LIBRARY 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PRESENTED  BY 

Mr.    H.    H.    Kil  iani 


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H.    DE    BALZAC 


THE    COMEDIE    HUMAINE 


(Oc^^i^  o^  ,^a,Mxzc^'  <;^Co>iic^ 


Cast  of  balzacs  hand. 


H.    DE    BALZAC 


THE 

DEPUTY    FOR    ARCIS 


PART  11 
AND 


THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES 


TRANSLATED  BY 


JNO.  RUDD,  B.A.,  and  CLARA  BELL 


WITH  A  PREFACE  BY 


GEORGE  SAINTSBURY 


^ 


PHILADELPHIA 

The  Gebbie  Publishing  Co.,  Ltd. 
1899 


CONTENTS 


PASK 

PREFACE ix 

THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARC  IS 

PART   II I 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES       .        .        .        .        .         .        .48 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


CAST  OF  BALZAC'S  HAND Frontispiece. 

Reproduced  hy  kind  permission  qf  M.  It  Vicomtt  de  Spoelb$rch 
de  Lwtnjtul. 

PAG« 

"EH,   WELL,   YES,   1   LOVE   YOU,"   SAID   HE 10$ 

Drawn  hy  D.  Murray-Smith. 

IT  WERE  USELESS  TO  PAINT  A  BALL  OF  THIS  KIND       .  .  .      I43 

Drawn  by  IV.  Boucher. 

"BUT     DOES     MADEMOISELLE     REALLY    SUIT     ME?"     REPLIED     LA 

PEYRADE ^^° 

Drawn  hy  y.  Ayton  Symington. 

"BUT  LOOK  AT  THE  DOCTOR,"   SHE  CRIED 4^5 

Drawn  by  F.  C.  Tilnty. 


PREFACE. 

**Le  DfiPUTfe  d'x'Vrcis,"  like  the  still  less  generally  known 
**Les  Petits  Bourgeois,"  stands  on  a  rather  different  footing 
from  the  rest  of  Balzac's  work.  Both  were  posthumous,  and 
both,  having  been  left  unfinished,  were  completed  by  the 
author's  friend,  Charles  Rabou.  Rabou  is  not  much  known 
nowadays  as  a  man  of  letters ;  he  must  not  be  confused  with 
the  writer  Hippolyte  Babou,  the  friend  of  Baudelaire,  the 
reputed  inventor  of  the  title  "  Fleurs  du  Mai,"  and  the 
author  of  some  very  acute  articles  in  the  great  collection  of 
Crepet's  "  Pontes  Fran9ais."  But  he  figures  pretty  frequently 
in  association  of  one  kind  or  another  with  Balzac,  and  would 
appear  to  have  been  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  scheme  and 
spirit  of  the  Com^die.  At  the  same  time,  it  does  not  appear 
that  even  the  indefatigable  and  most  competent  M.  de  Loven- 
joul  is  perfectly  certain  where  Balzac's  labors  end  and  those 
of  Rabou  begin. 

It  would  seem,  however  (and  certainly  internal  evidence 
has  nothing  to  say  on  the  other  side),  that  the  severance,  or 
rather  the  junction,  must  have  taken  place  somewhere  about 
the  point  where,  after  the  introduction  of  Maxime  de  Trailles, 
the  interest  suddenly  shifts  altogether  from  the  folk  of  Arcis 
and  the  conduct  of  their  election  to  the  hitherto  unknown 
Comte  de  Sallenauve.  It  would,  no  doubt,  be  possible,  and 
even  easy,  to  discover  in  Balzac's  undoubted  work — for  in- 
stance, in  "Le  Cur6  de  Village"  and  "Illusions  Perdues" — 
instances  of  shiftings  of  interest  nearly  as  abrupt  and  of 
changes  in  the  main  centre  of  the  story  nearly  as  decided. 
Nor  is  it  possible,  considering  the  weakness  of  constructive 
finish  which  always  marked  Balzac,  to  rule  out  offhand  the 
substitution,  after  an  unusually  lively  and  business-like  begin- 


X  PREFACE. 

ning,  of  the  nearly  always  frigid  scheme  of  letters,  topped  up 
with  a  conclusion  in  which,  with  very  doubtful  art,  as  many 
personages  of  the  Comedie,  and  even  direct  references  to  as 
many  of  its  books  as  possible,  are  dragged  in.  But  it  is  as 
nearly  as  possible  certain  that  he  would  never  have  left  things 
in  such  a  condition,  and  I  do  not  even  think  that  he  would 
ever  have  arranged  them  in  quite  the  same  state,  even  as  an 
experiment. 

The  book  belongs  to  the  Champenois  or  Arcis-sur-Aube 
series,  which  is  so  brilliantly  followed  by  "  Une  Tenebreuse 
Affaire."  It  is  curious  and  worth  notice,  as  showing  the  con- 
scientious fashion  in  which  Balzac  always  set  about  his  mature 
work,  that  though  his  provincial  stories  are  taken  from  parts 
of  France  widely  distant  from  one  another,  the  selection  is 
by  no  means  haphazard,  and  arranges  itself  with  ease  into 
groups  corresponding  to  certain  haunts  or  sojourns  of  the 
author.  There  is  the  Loire  group,  furnished  by  his  youthful 
remembrances  of  Tours  and  Saumur,  and  by  later  ones  down 
to  the  Breton  coast.  There  is  the  group  of  which  Alengon 
and  the  Breton-Norman  frontiers  are  the  field,  and  the  scenery 
of  which  was  furnished  by  early  visits  of  which  we  know  little, 
but  the  fact  of  the  existence  of  which  is  of  the  first  impor- 
tance, as  having  given  birth  to  the  "  Chouans,"  and  so  to  the 
whole  Comedie  in  a  way.  There  is  the  Angoumois-Limousin 
group,  for  which  he  informed  himself  during  his  frequent 
visits  to  the  Carraud  family.  And  lastly,  there  is  one  of 
rather  wider  extent,  and  not  connected  with  so  definite  a 
centre,  but  including  the  Morvan,  Upper  Burgundy,  and 
part  of  Champagne,  which  seems  to  have  been  commended 
to  him  by  his  stay  at  Sach6  and  other  places.  This  was  his 
latest  set  of  studies,  and  to  this  "Le  Depute  d'Arcis"  of 
course  belongs.  To  round  off  the  subject,  it  is  noteworthy 
that  no  part  of  the  coast  except  a  little  in  the  north,  with  the 
remarkable  exceptions  of  the  scenes  of  "La  Recherche  de 
I'Absolu"  and  one  or  two  others;  nothing  in  the  greater  part 


PREFACE.  xl 

of  Brittany  and  Normandy;  nothing  in  Guienne,  Gascony, 
Langucdoc,  Provence,  or  Dauphine,  seems  to  have  attracted 
him.  Yet  some  of  these  scenes — and  with  some  of  them  he 
had  meddled  in  the  Days  of  Ignorance — are  the  most  tempt- 
ing of  any  in  France  to  the  romancer,  and  his  abstention  from 
them  is  one  of  the  clearest  proofs  of  his  resolve  to  speak  only 
of  that  he  did  know. 

The  certainly  genuine  part  of  the  present  book  is,  as  cer- 
tainly, not  below  anything  save  his  very  best  work.  It  be- 
longs, indeed,  to  the  more  minute  and  "meticulous"  part  of 
that  work,  not  to  the  bolder  and  more  ambitious  side.  There 
is  no  Goriot,  no  Eugenie  Grandet,  not  even  any  Corentin  or 
Vautrin,  hardly  so  much  as  a  Rastignac  about  it.  But  the 
good  little  people  of  Arcis-sur-Aube  are  represented  "  in  their 
natural,"  as  Balzac's  great  compatriot  would  have  said,  with 
extraordinary  felicity  and  force.  The  electoral  meeting  in 
Madame  Marions'  house  is  certainly  one  of  the  best  things  in 
the  whole  Comedie  for  completeness  within  its  own  limits, 
and  none  of  the  personages,  official  or  other,  can  be  said  to 
suffer  from  that  touch  of  exaggeration  which,  to  some  tastes, 
interferes  with  the  more  celebrated  and  perhaps  more  generally 
attractive  delineations  of  Parisian  journalism  in  "Illusions 
Perdues  "  and  similar  books.  In  fact,  in  what  he  wrote  of 
"Le  D6put6  d'Arcis,"  Balzac  seems  to  have  had  personal 
knowledge  to  go  upon,  without  any  personal  grievances  to 
revenge  or  any  personal  crazes  to  enforce.  The  latter,  it  is 
true,  often  prompted  his  sublimest  work ;  but  the  former 
frequently  helped  to  produce  his  least  successful.  In  "Le 
Deput6  d'Arcis"  he  is  at  the  happy  mean.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  give  an  elaborate  bibliography  of  it ;  for,  as  has  been 
said,  only  the  "Election"  part  is  certainly  Balzac's.  This 
appeared  in  a  newspaper,  "L'Union  Monarchique,"  for  April 
and  May  1847. 

G.  S. 


PREFACE. 

The  least  known  of  Balzac's  works  is  undoubtedly  "Les 
Petits  Bourgeois;"  it  was  not  published  until  1854,  more 
than  three  years  after  his  death,  being  the  last,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  minor  pieces,  to  reach  the  public.  It  is 
believed  that  Charles  Rabou — who  finished  "  Le  Depute 
d'Arcis  " — completed  this.  Much  of  it  seems  quite  foreign 
to  Balzac's  style,  particularly  the  often  long  drawn-out  dia- 
logues ;  much  of  which  must  be  that  of  another  hand.  Then 
the  abrupt  breaks,  though  Balzac  was  not  by  any  means  free 
from  this  vice,  give  a  further  tendency  to  this  opinion. 

It  will  be  noted  that,  in  a  sense,  he  clears  the  stage  of  a 
number  of  his  characters — Corentin,  Popinot,  etal.;  the  former 
of  whom  resigns  his  b^ton  to  his  successor,  and  the  latter,  one 
of  his  pet  goody  characters,  being  found  decently  interred, 
though  honored  still.  Lousteau,  after  a  long  rest,  is  again 
shown  in  his  great  forte  of  "turning  an  honest  dollar "  in 
connection  with  the  despised  press,  in  the  sale  of  the  "Echo 
de  la  Bidvre."  Cerizet,  first  met  with  in  "  Illusions  Perdues," 
comes  more  fully  on  the  scene  than  in  any  other  volume — the 
same  villain  still.  The  spy,  Dutocq,  who  was  the  cause  of 
Rabourdin's  downfall  in  "Les  Employes,"  drops  out  without 
his  meed  of  poetical  justice.  To  give  Balzac  his  proper  due, 
it  must  be  said  that  he  seldom  controverts  the  happenings  of 
real  life  to  attain  the  "married  and  live-happy-ever-after 
style"  of  the  usual  novel. 

In  "Les  Petits  Bourgeois"  several  new  characters  appear, 
perhaps  the  three  most  notable  ones  being  Madame  Cardinal, 
Louis- Jcrdme  Thuillier  (only  slightly  mentioned  in  "Les 
Employes"),  and  Mademoiselle  Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte  Thuil- 
lier ;  of  the  first  we  would  have  wished  to  see  more ;  the  sec- 
(xii) 


PREFACE.  xiii 

ond  is  a  careful  study  of  the  clerk-beau  arrived  at  middle  age ; 
while  the  last  mentioned  is  a  clean,  delightful  sketch — per- 
haps a  little  harsh  at  times — of  the  old  maid  who  has  *'  made 
her  way."  One  finds  in  Brigitte  traces  of  Cousin  Bette,  with- 
out her  evil  mind,  and  of  Mademoiselle  Cormon  in  "  Les 
Rivalites." 

"  Les  Petits  Bourgeois  "  has  little  of  history  to  record.  As 
said  it  was  not  published  until  1854,  although  Balzac  says  of 
it,  in  March,  1844:  "I  may  tell  you  that  my  work  called 
'Les  Petits  Bourgeois,'  owing  to  much  difficulty  of  construc- 
tion, requires  a  full  month  of  labor  ;  still  it  is  entirely  written." 
In  October,  1846,  he  says  again  :  "  It  is  to  these  scruples  that 
the  delay  which  has  injured  some  of  my  works  is  due  ;  for 
example:  'Les  Paysans,'  which  has  been  nearly  completed  for 
a  long  time,,  and  'Les  Petits  Bourgeois,'  which  has  been  in 
type  at  the  printery  for  quite  eighteen  months." 

Now  this  seems  strange  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Balzac 
always  needed  money.  In  other  of  these  prefaces  it  has  been 
shown  what  "finished"  and  "completed"  often  meant.  It  was 
this  that  caused  the  trouble  between  himself  and  the  publisher 
of"  LeLysdansla  Vallee,"  his  leaving  it  in  an  incomplete  state 
after  it  was  "  finished."  In  the  case  of  the  present  volume, 
neither  the  MS.  nor  proofs  were  ever  seen  by  anybody.  It 
really  first  came  out  in  the  "Pays,"  in  the  Autumn  of  the 
year  mentioned. 

Publisher's  Editor. 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

PART  II. 

When  Vautrin  had  mentioned  Bixiou  as  the  recruiting-ser- 
geant of  his  company,  this  was  what  he  had  meant  by  calling 
him  her  ''client."  Unless  one  has  never  read  Moliere's 
"Avare,"  he  cannot  but  be  aware  of  Maitre  Simon,  who  ever 
stands  as  a  screen  between  the  usurer's  traffic  and  the  arm  of 
the  law. 

Now,  Master  Bixiou,  whose  extremely  free-and-easy  life 
frequently  compelled  him  to  have  recourse  to  his  credit,  had, 
through  an  intermediary,  found  himself  in  business  relations 
with  Jacqueline  Collin ;  and  by  his  monkey-skill  in  worming 
out  mysteries,  especially  such  as  might  interest  himself,  in 
spite  of  the  queer  disguises  in  which  she  involved  herself,  he 
had  succeeded  in  getting  face  to  face  with  his  creditor.  Then, 
one  day,  being  quite  unable  to  meet  a  bill  which  would  fall 
due  on  the  morrow,  he  had  boldly  attacked  the  ogress,  to 
work  the  miracle  of  extracting  a  renewal  on  favorable  terms. 
The  woman  liked  a  man  of  spirit,  and,  like  all  wild  beasts, 
she  had  her  intervals  of  ruth.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that 
Bixiou  had  done  his  utmost  to  propitiate  her;  he  was  witty 
under  his  reverses,  full  of  dazzling  paradoxes  and  theories  of 
jovial  immorality,  which  so  effectually  bewildered  the  money- 
lender, that  not  only  did  she  renew  the  bill,  but  she  had  even 
lent  him  a  further  sum ;  and  this  sum,  to  crown  the  marvel, 
he  had  actually  repaid  her. 

Hence,  between  the  artist  and  the  " matrimonial  agent" 
there  arose  a  certain  friendly  feeling.  Bixiou,  not  knowing 
whom  the  terrible  creature  was  with  whom  he  rubbed  shoulders, 
flattered  himself  that  it  was  his  cleverness  that  made  her  laugh, 

(1) 


2  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

and  now  and  then,  when  he  was  at  his  wits'  end,  enabled  him 
to  soften  her  to  the  extent  of  a  few  napoleons;  he  did  not 
know  that  he  was  the  dog  of  the  raree  show  in  the  lion's  den; 
and  that  this  woman,  in  whose  past  life  there  had  been 
incidents  a  la  Brinvilliers,  was  not  incapable  of  making  him 
pay  with  his  life  for  his  insolent  familiarity,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  interest  on  her  loans. 

Meanwhile,  and  pending  this  fatal  termination  which  was  not 
very  probable,  Jacqueline  Collin  did  not  hesitate  to  employ 
this  jovial  gossip  in  the  ferreting  he  practiced  so  successfully; 
indeed,  she  not  infrequently  gave  him,  without  his  knowning 
it,  a  part  to  play  in  the  shady  imbroglios  that  were  the  occupa- 
tion of  her  life. 

In  the  affair  of  Luigia,  the  caricaturist  was  wonderfully 
useful;  through  him  she  could  insure  publicity  for  the  rumor 
of  Count  Halphertius'  appearance  on  the  Parisian  horizon, 
his  passion  for  the  singer,  and  the  immense  sums  he  was  pre- 
pared to  put  down  in  her  behalf. 

On  the  2ist,  at  seven  o'clock  precisely,  all  the  guests,  of 
whom  Desroches  had  given  Bixiou  the  list,  and  Desroches 
himself,  were  assembled  in  the  drawing-room  in  the  Rue  de 
Provence  when  the  negro  announced  Sir  Francis  Drake  and 
Count  Halphertius,  who  had  insisted  on  not  being  named 
first. 

As  he  glanced  at  the  assembled  circle,  Vaulrln  v/as  an- 
noyed to  perceive  that  his  aunt's  habits  and  instincts  had 
proved  stronger  than  his  special  and  express  injunctions,  and 
a  sort  of  turban,  green  and  yellow,  would  have  put  him  seri- 
ously out  of  temper,  but  that  the  skill  she  had  shown  in  carry- 
ing out  all  his  other  wishes  won  forgiveness  for  her  head-dress. 
As  for  Luigia,  dressed,  as  usual,  in  black,  having  had  the 
wisdom  to  refuse  the  assistance  of  a  hairdresser  who  had 
vainly  attempted  to  reduce  what  he  had  called  the  disorder 
pf  her  hair^  she  was  supremely  beautiful ;  and  an  air  of  mcl- 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARC  IS.  3 

ancholic  gravity  stamped  on  all  her  person  compelled  a  feeling 
of  respect,  which  surprised  these  men,  to  whom  Bixiou  had 
spoken  of  her  as  awaiting  their  verdict. 

The  only  person  who  was  specially  introduced  to  Vautrin 
was  Dcsroches,  whom  Bixiou  brought  up  to  him  with  this 
jovially  emphatic  formula — 

"  Maitre  Desroches,  the  most  intelligent  attorney  of  modern 
times." 

As  to  Sir  Francis  Drake,  if  he  seemed  a  shade  less  scornful 
than  he  had  intended  to  be  of  the  influence  of  journalism  as 
affecting  the  supply  of  capital,  it  was  because  he  happened  to 
be  acquainted  with  Felicien  Vernouand  Lousteau,  two  writers 
for  the  journalistic  press,  with  whom  he  shook  hands  warmly. 

Before  dinner  was  announced,  Count  Halphertius  thought 
it  his  part  to  make  a  little  speech ;  and  after  a  few  minutes' 
conversation  with  Signora  Luigia,  to  whom  he  had  good  taste 
enough  not  to  speak  till  he  had  been  in  the  room  a  short 
while,  he  ostensibly  addressed  Madame  de  Saint-Esteve,  but 
loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  all  who  were  present. 

"  My  dear  madame,"  said  he  to  his  aunt,  "  you  are  really 
a  wonderful  woman.  The  first  time  I  find  myself  in  a  Paris 
drawing-room,  and  you  make  me  to  meet  all  that  is  most  dis- 
tinguished in  literature,  in  arts,  and  in  the  world  of  business. 
I,  what  am  only  a  northern  barbarian,  though  my  country  has 
its  famous  men — Linnaeus,  Berzelius,  the  great  Thorvaldsen, 
Tegner,  Franzen,  Geier,  and  our  charming  novelist,  Frederica 
Bremer — I  am  here  astonished  and  timid,  and  I  do  not  know 
how  to  say  to  you  that  I  am  so  extraordinary  obliged." 

"Well,  through  Bernadotte,"*  said  the  lady,  whose  eru- 
dition took  her  so  far  as  that,  "  France  and  Sweden  clasped 
hands." 

"  It  is  quite  certain,"  said  Vautrin,  "  that  our  beloved  sov- 
ereign Charles  XIV. " 

*  Jean- Baptistc- Jules  Bernadotte,  a  French  general  raised  to  the  Swed* 
ish  throne,  i8l2. 


4  THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  butler,  who  threw  open  the  doors 
and  announced  dinner. 

Madame  de  Saint-Est^ve  took  Vautrin's  arm,  and  whispered 
as  they  went — 

"Don't  you  think  it  all  very  well  done?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Jacques  Collin,  "it  is  very  well  gotten  up. 
Nothing  is  wrong  but  your  diabolical  parrot-colored  turban, 
which  startled  me  a  good  deal." 

"No,  no,"  said  Jacqueline,  "  with  my  Javanese  phiz  "  (she 
was  born,  in  fact,  in  Java)  "  something  Oriental  carries  it  off." 

The  dinner  was  not,  on  the  whole,  particularly  lively.  The 
Human  Comedy  has  more  than  once  had  occasion  to  include 
a  picture  of  the  cheerful  race  who  were  here  present  in  force, 
under  the  brilliant  light  of  the  triclinium  ;  but  then  they  had 
not  been  muzzled  as  they  were  at  this  banquet.  Bixiou,  as  a 
message  from  Madame  de  Saint-Estdve,  had  particularly  im- 
pressed on  all  the  guests  that  they  were  to  say  nothing  that 
could  distress  the  chaste  ears  of  the  pious  Italian.  So  these 
men,  forced  to  be  cautious,  all  men  of  wit  and  feeling — more 
or  less,  as  a  famous  critic  said,  had  lost  their  spirit ;  and  fall- 
ing back  on  the  dinner,  which  was  excellent,  they  murmured 
in  undertones,  or  reduced  the  conversation  to  commonplace 
remarks.  In  short,  they  ate  and  they  drank  under  protest,  so 
to  speak ;  but  they  did  not  really  dine. 

Bixiou,  to  whom  such  a  state  of  things  was  quite  unendur- 
able, was  bent  on  making  some  break  in  this  monotony.  The 
intimacy  between  a  foreign  nobleman  and  their  hostess  had 
given  him  food  for  thought ;  he  had  also  been  struck  by  a 
certain  inefi&ciency  in  the  Amphitryon ;  and  he  had  said  to 
himself  that  a  genuine  nobleman  would  at  a  smaller  cost  have 
succeeded  in  putting  some  life  into  the  party.  So,  in  order 
to  feel  his  way,  it  occurred  to  him  to  test  the  count  by  speak- 
ing of  Sweden,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  course  he 
asked  him  all  across  the  table — 

"  Monsieur  le  Comte,  you  are  too  young,  I  imagine,  to 


THE    DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  o 

have  known  Gustavus  III.,  whom  Scribe  and  Auber  have  set 
in  an  opera,  and  who  in  France  has  given  his  glorious  name 
to  a  galop.  ^' 

*'Ibeg  your  pardon,"  replied  Vautrin,  seizing  the  oppor- 
tunity thus  offered  to  liim ;  "lam  very  nearly  sixty,  which 
would  make  me  thirteen  in  1792,  when  our  beloved  sovereign 
was  killed  by  the  assassin  Anckastroem ;  so  I  can  remember 
those  times." 

Having  said  this,  by  the  help  of  a  volume  called  "  Carac- 
teres  et  Anecdotes  de  la  cour  de  Suede  "  (published  by  Arthus 
Bertrand  in  1808  without  the  author's  name),  which  he  had 
picked  up  at  a  bookstall  since  his  incarnation  as  a  Swede, 
Vautrin  was  in  a  position  to  defy  pitfalls.  He  improved  the 
occasion  ;  like  a  speaker  who  only  waits  to  be  started  on  a 
familiar  text  to  display  his  powers  to  the  best  advantage,  no 
sooner  was  the  tap  turned  on  than  he  flowed  with  such  eru- 
dition and  pertinence  on  all  the  great  men  of  his  country, 
gave  so  many  circumstantial  details,  related  so  many  curious 
and  secret  facts,  especially  with  regard  to  the  famous  Coup 
d'Etat,  by  which  Gustavus  III.  emancipated  the  crown  in 
1772  ;  in  short,  was  so  precise  and  so  interesting  that,  as  they 
rose  from  table,  Emile  Blondet  said  to  Bixiou — 

**  I  was  like  you — a  foreign  count,  introduced  by  this  match- 
monger,  at  first  struck  me  as  suspicious.  But  not  only  was 
the  dinner  really  princely;  this  man  knows  his  Swedish  Court 
in  a  way  that  is  not  to  be  obtained  from  books.  He  is  un- 
doubtedly a  man  of  good  family ;  and  if  only  I  had  time,  I 
could  make  a  very  interesting  pamphlet  out  of  all  he  has  told 
us.     But  the  diva  is  about  to  sign  her  agreement." 

"He  is  a  very  cunning  fox,"  said  Desroches  to  Bixiou  as 
they  came  to  the  drawing-room.  "  He  must  be  enormously 
rich  ;  he  paid  the  Englishman  a  hundred  thousand  crowns 
down  in  bank-bills  on  the  spot ;  and  when  I  wanted  to  insert 
a  rather  stringent  clause  in  the  agreement  as  to  the  payment 
of  the  lady's  salary — for  Sir  Francis  Drake  has  not  a  reputa- 


6  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

lion  for  paying  'on  the  tail,'  as  Leon  de  Lora  would  say — 
our  gentleman  would  allow  no  written  expression  of  distrust — 
whence  I  conclude  that  the  fair  Italian  keeps  him  at  arm's 
length,  and  that  he  is  not  sorry  to  have  some  hold  over  her 
through  arrears  of  pay." 

"  And  your  fees,"  said  Bixiou.  "  Did  he  happen  to  men- 
tion them  ?  I  told  old  Saint-Est^ve  that  she  must  not  expect 
a  man  of  your  consequence  to  put  himself  out  of  the  way  for 
soup  and  beef — that  they  must  be  flavored  with  mint-sauce." 

"  Here  you  are  !  "  said  Dcsroches,  taking  out  of  his  pocket 
a  gold  box,  oval  in  shape,  and  very  handsomely  chased. 
"Just  now,  while  I  was  reading  the  indentures,  I  had  laid  my 
snuff-box  of  Irish  horn — worth  about  ten  francs  perhaps — on 
the  table  by  my  side.  Our  friend  interrupted  me  to  ask  for  a 
pinch.  When  I  had  done  reading  and  wanted  it,  in  the 
place  of  my  box,  which  had  vanished,  I  found  tins  gem." 

"Your  'uncle,'  "  said  Bixiou,  "would  lend  you  three  or 
four  hundred  francs  on  it,  which  would  mean  a  value  of  about 
a  thousand." 

"As  I  protested  against  such  an  exchange,"  Desroches 
went  on,  "  *  I  am  the  gainer  by  it,'  says  he.  '  I  have  a  relic 
of  the  Napoleon  of  attorneys.'  " 

"  Miglity  genteel !  "  said  Bixiou,  "  and  please  God  and  the 
old  woman  I  will  cultivate  his  acquaintance.  I  say,  supposing 
I  were  to  sketch  him  in  an  early  number  of  the  '  Charivari '  ?  " 

"  First  we  must  find  out  whether  he  has  enough  French  wit 
in  him  to  be  pleased  to  see  himself  caricatured." 

At  this  moment  a  chord  on  the  piano  announced  that  the 
Signora  Luigia  was  about  to  face  the  enemy.  She  sang  the 
"Willow  Song"  with  a  depth  of  expression  which  touched 
her  audience,  though  the  trial  was  held  by  an  areopagus  who 
was  digesting  a  dinner  of  no  sparing  character. 

The  song  ended,  Vernou  and  Lousteau,  going  up  to  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  said,  with  an  assumption  of  indignation  as 
flattering  to  his  skill  as  to  his  hopes  as  a  manager — 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARClS.  7 

"  What  a  mean  wretch  you  must  be  to  have  secured  such  an 
artist  for  fifty  thousand  francs — a  mere  song !  " 

Luigia  then  sang  an  air  from  "  Nina,"  by  Paesiello,  and  in 
this  light  and  vivacious  character  revealed  a  gift  of  impersona- 
tion at  least  equal  to  her  talent  as  a  singer. 

"She  startled  me!"  said  the  old  aunt  to  Vautrin.  "I 
fancied  I  saw  Peyrade's  daughter."* 

What  crowned  Luigia's  success,  and  recommended  her 
especially  to  her  reporters,  was  her  modesty — a  sort  of  igno- 
rance of  her  wonderful  gifts  in  the  midst  of  the  praises  that 
were  showered  on  her.  This  little  crowd  of  journalists, 
accustomed  to  the  extravagant  vanity  and  insolent  assumption 
of  the  smallest  stage  queens,  could  not  get  over  the  humility 
and  artlessness  of  this  Empress  of  Song,  who  seemed  quite 
surprised  at  the  effect  she  had  produced. 

A  few  words  skillfully  whispered  at  parting  to  each  of  these 
great  men,  and  a  card  left  at  their  lodgings  next  day  by  Count 
Halphcrtius,  secured  for  his  protege,  at  any  rate  for  the  mo- 
ment, a  chorus  of  admiration  which  would  echo  across  the 
channel,  and  be  almost  as  good  as  a  brilliant  debut  at  the 
Italian  opera  house  in  Paris. 

Some  days  before  Luigia's  journey,  the  Boulogne  boat  car- 
ried another  person  of  this  drama  to  England. 

As  soon  as  he  had  ascertained  where  he  could  find  Salle- 
nauve,  to  give  him  the  information  he  thought  so  urgent, 
Jacques  Bricheteau  abandoned  the  idea  of  writing  him.  He 
thought  it  simpler  and  safer  to  go  and  see  him. 

On  reaching  London,  the  traveler  was  somewhat  surprised 
to  learn  that  Hanwell  was  one  of  the  most  famous  lunatic 
asylums  in  the  three  kingdoms.  If  he  had  but  remembered 
the  apprehensions  his  friend  had  felt  at  the  state  of  Marie- 
Gaston's  brain,  he  would  have  guessed  the  truth ;  but  he  was 
quite  at  sea  when  he  was  further  informed  that  this  asylum, 
»  See  "The  Harlot's  Progress." 


S  THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

maintained  by  the  taxes,  was  open  only  to  mad  people  of  the 
lower  classes,  and  not  to  paying  patients. 

Hanwell  is  a  large  building  of  not  unhandsome  appearance  ; 
the  front,  nine  hundred  and  ninet)'--six  feet  in  length,  is 
broken  by  three  octagonal  towers,  three  stories  high — one  at 
each  end,  and  one  in  the  middle ;  the  monotony  is  thus  re- 
lieved, though  the  melancholy  purpose  of  the  building  neces- 
sitated a  very  moderate  use  of  ornament. 

The  asylum  is  pleasantly  situated  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  on 
the  borders  of  Jersey  {sic)  *  and  Middlesex.  The  extensive 
grounds,  gardens,  and  farms  lie  between  the  Uxbridge  road, 
the  river  Brent,  and  the  Grand  Junction  canal ;  nine  hundred 
patients  can  be  accommodated  and  treated  there.  As  it  is  well 
known  that  manual  labor  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  elements 
of  the  cure,  the  house  contains  workshops  for  carpentry,  smiths' 
work,  painting,  glazing,  and  brushmaking  ;  cotton  is  spun, 
shoes,  baskets,  strawberry  pottles,  and  straw  hats  are  made, 
and  other  light  work  for  women.  The  finer  qualities  of  work 
are  sold  to  visitors  in  a  bazaar,  and  bring  in  a  considerable 
profit. 

Such  patients  as  are  incapable  of  learning  a  trade  work  in 
the  garden  and  farm,  which  supply  many  of  the  wants  of  the 
establishment ;  bread  and  ale  are  made  on  the  premises ;  all 
the  necessary  linen  is  made  up  and  washed  by  means  of  a 
steam  engine,  which  also  heats  every  part  of  the  building.  A 
chapel  with  a  fine  organ,  a  library,  and  a  concert-room — the 
salutary  effect  of  music  on  the  patients  being  amply  proved — 
show  that,  hand  in  hand  with  intelligent  care  given  to  physical 
suffering,  the  needs  of  the  spiritual  and  intellectual  man  are 
not  neglected. 

Finally,  as  Lord  Lewin  had  told  Sallenauve  in  his  letter, 
the  superintendent  and  director  was  Dr.  Ellis,  a  distinguished 
physician  to  whom  we  owe  a  valuable  treatise  on  the  develop- 

*  This  curious  mistake  seems  to  have  arisen  from  the  proximity  of 
Otterley  Park,  Lord  Jersey's  residence. 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  9 

inent  and  therapeutics  of  mental  disease.  In  his  treatment  of 
these  maladies  this  learned  man  does  not  despise  the  aid  of 
phrenology. 

On  being  shovn  into  the  doctor's  room,  the  organist  asked 
him  whether  a  Frenchman  named  Sallenauve  were  not  staying 
for  a  time  at  Hanwell.  Here,  again,  Bricheteau  paid  the 
penalty  of  his  neglected  and  shabby  appearance ;  without 
vouchsafing  any  inquiries  or  explanations,  Dr.  Ellis  shortly 
replied  that  he  had  never  even  heard  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve's 
name.  This,  after  all,  was  very  probable;  so  Jacques  Briche- 
teau withdrew,  much  disappointed ;  and  fancying  that  Madame 
de  I'Estorade  had  misread,  or  he  himself  had  mistaken,  the 
name  of  Hanwell,  he  spent  some  days  in  running  about  the 
county  of  Middlesex  visiting  every  spot  of  which  the  name 
ending  in  ell  invited  his  attention. 

All  his  inquiries  having  resulted  in  nothing,  as  he  rarely 
allowed  his  persevering  and  resourceful  spirit  to  be  beaten  in 
anything  he  undertook,  Jacques  Bricheteau  resolved  to  make 
another  attempt  on  Hanwell  by  letter,  thinking,  very  rightly, 
that  a  letter  sometimes  got  in  where  a  man  was  barred  out. 
In  point  of  fact,  on  the  evening  of  the  day  when  he  posted 
his  letter  he  received  a  reply  from  Sallenauve,  inviting  him 
to  call  at  the  asylum,  where  he  was  promised  a  most  cordial 
welcome. 

Dr.  Ellis'  conduct  was  accounted  for  when  Jacques  Briche- 
teau learned  the  extent  of  the  disaster  that  had  befallen  Marie- 
Gaston.  Discretion  is,  of  course,  one  of  the  most  indispen- 
sable virtues  in  the  head  of  an  asylum  for  the  insane  \  since 
every  day,  by  his  position,  he  becomes  the  depository  of 
secrets  which  affect  the  honor  of  whole  families. 

When  Bricheteau  arrived  at  the  asylum,  and  was  introduced 
by  Sallenauve  as  his  friend,  he  was  heartily  welcomed.  Dr. 
Ellis  made  every  apology ;  and  having  on  various  occasions 
in  the  course  of  his  practice  found  really  wonderful  benefit 
derived  from  music,  he  said  that  he  regarded  the  organist's 


10  THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

arrival  as  quite  a  godsend,  since  his  great  musical  talent  might 
be  of  immense  use  as  a  means  toward  effecting  the  cure  of  the 
patient. 

Since  leaving  Ville-d'Avray,  Marie-Gaston's  state  had  un- 
fortunately become  seriously  complicated.  Until  he  reached 
England  he  had  been  comparatively  cheerful  and  docile  to 
Lord  Lewin's  advice  ;  they  might  have  been  supposed  to  be 
friends  traveling  together  for  pleasure.  But  when,  instead  of 
embarking  at  once  for  South  America,  Lord  Lewin,  under  the 
pretext  of  business  to  transact  in  the  neighborhood  of  London, 
proposed  to  Marie-Gaston  to  accompany  him,  the  madman 
began  to  suspect  some  snare  into  which  he  had  been  wheedled. 
He  allowed  himself,  nevertheless,  to  be  driven  to  Hanwell, 
represented  by  Lord  Lewin  as  one  of  the  royal  residences ;  he 
had  not  even  resisted  when  invited  to  cross  the  threshold  of 
his  prison ;  but  once  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Ellis,  who  had 
been  forewarned  by  a  letter  from  Lord  Lewin,  a  sort  of  in- 
stinct, of  which  the  insane  arc  very  capable,  seemed  to  tell 
the  unhappy  man  that  his  freedom  was  in  danger. 

"I  do  not  like  that  man's  face,"  he  said  aloud  to  Lord 
Lewin.     **  Let  us  go." 

The  doctor  had  tried  to  laugh  off  the  remark ;  but  Marie- 
Gaston,  getting  more  and  more  excited,  exclaimed  : 

"  Hold  your  tongue  !  Your  laughter  is  intolerable.  You 
look  just  like  an  executioner." 

And  it  is  possible  that  the  deep  attention  with  which  mad 
doctors  must  study  the  countenance  of  a  patient,  added  to  the 
stern  fixed  gaze  by  which  they  are  often  compelled  to  control 
a  maniac,  may  at  last  give  their  features  an  expression  of  in- 
quisitorial scrutiny.  This,  no  doubt,  has  a  highly  irritating 
effect  on  the  overstrung  nervous  sensibilities  of  the  unhappy 
creatures  brought  within  their  ken. 

"You  will  not  deprive  me,  I  hope,"  said  the  doctor,  "of 
the  pleasure  of  keeping  you  and  my  friend  Lord  Lewin  to 
dinner  ?  " 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS.  \\ 

"I!  Dine  with  you?"  cried  Marie-Gaston  vehemently. 
"  What — that  you  may  poison  me  !  " 

"Well,  but  poison  is  just  what  you  want,  surely?"  said 
Lord  Lewin  quickly.  "Were  you  not  talking  the  other  day 
of  a  dose  of  prussic  acid  ?  " 

Lord  Lewin  was  not,  as  might  perhaps  be  supposed,  merely 
rash  in  making  this  pointed  speech ;  he  had  studied  mad  per- 
sons, and  he  discerned  that  a  deeply  hostile  aversion  for  the 
doctor  was  seething  in  Marie-Gaston's  mind  ;  so,  being  strong 
and  active,  he  intended  to  divert  on  himself  the  storm  that 
was  about  to  burst.     It  fell  out  as  he  had  expected. 

"Vile  scoundrel!"  cried  Marie-Gaston,  seizing  him  by 
the  throat,  "  you  are  in  collusion  with  the  other,  and  sell- 
ing my  secrets  !  " 

It  was  with  some  difficulty,  and  the  help  of  two  warders, 
that  Lord  Lewin  had  shaken  off  his  desperate  clutch ;  the 
poor  man  had  developed  raving  mania. 

The  paroxysm,  after  lasting  some  days,  had  yielded  to 
care  and  treatment ;  the  patient  was  now  gentle  and  quiet, 
and  showed  some  hopeful  symptoms ;  but  Sir  William  Ellis 
hoped  to  induce  a  final  crisis,  and  he  was  considering  the 
way  and  means  to  this  end  when  M.  Jacques  Bricheteau  ar- 
rived. 

As  soon  as  Sallenauve  found  himself  alone  with  the  organist, 
he  questioned  him  as  to  the  motives  that  had  prompted  him 
to  follow  him,  and  it  was  not  without  indignation  that  he 
heard  of  the  intrigue  which  Maxime  and  the  Beauvisages 
seemed  to  be  plotting  against  him.  His  old  suspicions  re- 
vived— 

"Are  you  quite  certain,"  he  asked,  "that  the  man  I  but 
just  saw  was  in  fact  the  Marquis  de  Sallenauve  ?  " 

"Mother  Marie  des  Angcs  and  Achille  Pigoult,"  replied 
Bricheteau,  "  who  warned  me  of  this  plot,  have  no  more  doubt 
of  the  marquis*  identity  than  I  have.  And  in  all  the  gossip 
which  they  are  trying  to  work  up  into  a  scandal,  one  thing 


12  THE   DEPUTY  EOR   ARCIS. 

alone  seems  to  me  at  all  serious,  and  that  is,  that  by  your 
absence  you  leave  the  field  free  to  your  enemies." 

"But  the  Chamber  will  not  condemn  me  unheard,"  re- 
plied the  member.  "I  wrote  the  president  to  ask  leave  cf 
absence;  and  in  the  event  of  its  being  refused,  which  is  most 
improbable,  I  have  asked  I'Estorade,  who  knows  my  reasons 
for  being  here,  to  answer  for  me." 

"You  also  wrote  to  madame  his  wife?" 

"I  wrote  only  to  his  wife,"  replied  Sallenauve.  "I  an- 
nounced to  her  the  misfortune  that  has  overtaken  our  friend, 
and  at  the  same  time  begged  her  to  explain  to  her  husband 
the  good  offices  I  requested  of  him." 

"If  that  is  the  case,"  said  Jacques  Bricheteau,  "do  not 
depend  for  anything  on  the  I'Estorades.  A  rumor  of  the 
blow  about  to  be  dealt  you  had  no  doubt  already  reached 
them." 

And  after  telling  him  of  the  reception  he  had  met  with,  as 
well  as  the  unkind  speeches  made  by  Madame  de  I'Estorade, 
Jacques  Bricheteau  drew  the  conclusion  that  in  the  impending 
struggle  no  help  could  be  hoped  for  from  that  quarter. 

"I  have  some  right  to  be  surprised  at  such  a  state  of 
things,"  said  Sallenauve,  "after  Madame  de  I'Estorade's 
pressing  assurances  of  unfailing  good-will;  however,"  he 
added  with  a  shrug,  "  nothing  is  impossible,  and  calumny 
has  erenow  undermined  closer  friendships." 

"  So  now,  as  you  must  unrderstand,"  said  the  organist,  '•'  we 
must  set  out  for  Paris  without  delay;  all  things  considered, 
your  presence  here  is  really  far  less  necessary." 

"On  the  contrary,"  replied  Sallenauve,  "only  this  morn- 
ing the  doctor  was  congratulating  himself  on  my  having  de- 
cided on  coming,  saying  that  at  the  right  moment  my  inter- 
vention might  be  invaluable.  In  fact,  I  have  not  yet  been 
allowed  to  see  Marie-Gaston,  reserving  my  appearance  as  a 
surprise  at  need." 

"The  usefulness  of  your  presence,"  replied  Jacques  Briche- 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS.  13 

teau,  "is  nevertheless  problematical;  while,  by  remaining 
here  for  an  indefinite  period,  you  are  most  certainly  imperil- 
ing your  political  future,  your  social  position,  everything  of 
which  the  most  ardent  friendship  has  no  right  to  demand  the 
sacrifice." 

"We  will  go  and  talk  it  over  with  the  doctor,"  said  Sal- 
lenauve  at  length,  for  he  could  not  fail  to  see  that  Jacques 
Bricheteau's  importunity  was  justified. 

On  being  asked  whether  Marie-Gaston's  stay  in  the  asylum 
was  liable  to  be  prolonged — 

"Yes,  I  think  so,"  said  the  doctor;  "I  have  just  seen  our 
patient,  and  the  cerebral  irritation,  which  must  give  way  to 
the  material  action  of  medicines  before  we  can  attempt  to 
bring  any  moral  influence  to  bear,  seems  to  me  most  unfortu- 
nately on  the  high  way  to  a  fresh  outbreak." 

"Still,"  said  Sallenauve  anxiously,  "you  have  not  lost  all 
hope  of  a  cure?" 

"Far  from  it ;  I  believe  firmly  in  a  favorable  termination. 
But  these  dreadful  disorders  often  present  frequent  alterna- 
tions of  aggravation  and  improvement ;  and  I  am  beginning 
to  foresee  that  the  case  will  be  a  longer  one  than  I  had  at  first 
hoped." 

"  I  have  just  been  elected  a  deputy  to  the  Lower  Chamber," 
said  Sallenauve,  "  and  the  opening  of  the  session  demands  my 
return  to  Paris.  It  is  no  less  required  by  urgent  private  mat- 
ters which  Monsieur  Bricheteau  came  expressly  to  discuss.  So 
unless  I  thought  that  my  presence  here  would  be  immediately 
needed " 

"Go,"  said  the  doctor,  "it  may  be  a  very  long  business. 
If  the  patient's  condition  had  not  shown  a  relapse,  I  had  in- 
tended to  arrange  some  startling  scene  with  your  help  and 
that  of  Monsieur  Bricheteau's  music,  aided  too  by  a  young 
lady,  a  relation  of  my  wife's,  who  on  various  occasions  has 
seconded  me  very  intelligently — a  little  dramatic  shock  from 
which  I  hoped  for  good  results.     But,  in  the  first  place,  my 


14  THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

young  relation  is  absent,  and  for  the  moment  nothing  can  be 
done  but  by  medical  agents.     So,  for  the  moment,  go  !  " 

Sallenauve  gratefully  pressed  the  doctor's  hand,  seeing  liis 
eager  wish  to  reassure  him.  He  then  took  leave  of  Mrs.  Ellis, 
who  promised  no  less  warmly  than  her  husband  the  devoted 
care  of  a  mother's  watchfulness.  As  to  Lord  Lewin,  Salle- 
nauve's  character  had  won  his  most  friendly  esteem,  and  his 
conduct  in  the  past  was  a  guarantee  of  all  that  might  be  ex- 
pected of  him  now  and  in  the  future.  So  Bricheteau  had  no 
difficulty  about  getting  off  without  any  further  delay. 

They  reached  London  at  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  and 
would  have  gone  on  to  Paris  the  same  evening  but  for  a  sur- 
prise which  awaited  them.  Their  eyes  fell  immediately  on 
enormous  posters,  on  a  scale  which  only  English  "  puff"  can 
achieve,  announcing  at  the  corner  of  every  street  the  appear- 
ance that  same  evening  of  Signora  Luigia  at  Her  Majesty's 
theatre.  The  name  alone  was  enough  to  arrest  the  travelers' 
attention  ;  but  the  papers  to  which  they  had  recourse  for  in- 
formation supplied  them,  in  the  English  fashion,  with  so 
many  circumstantial  facts  as  to  the  debutante's  career,  that 
Sallenauve  could  not  doubt  the  transformation  of  his  late 
housekeeper  into  one  of  the  brightest  stars  that  had  risen  for 
a  long  time  above  the  horizon  of  England.  If  he  had  list- 
ened to  Jacques  Bricheteau,  he  would  have  been  content  to 
hail  from  afar  the  triumph  of  the  handsome  Italian,  and  have 
gone  on  his  way.  But  having  calculated  that  one  evening  spent 
in  London  would  make  no  serious  delay  in  his  arrival,  Salle- 
nauve was  bent  on  judging  for  himself,  by  his  own  eyes  and 
ears,  what  the  enthusiasm  was  worth  which  was  expressed  on 
all  sides  for  the  new  prima  donna. 

Sallenauve  went  off  at  once  to  the  box  office,  which  he 
found  closed,  but  he  was  enabled  to  perceive  that  the  singer's 
success  was  immense.  Every  seat  had  been  sold  by  two  in 
the  afternoon,  and  he  thought  himself  lucky  to  secure  two 
Stalls  at  a  private  ticket  office  for  the  sum  of  five  pounds. 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  16 

The  London  opera-house  had  never  perhaps  held  a  more 
brilliant  assembly ;  and  it  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  by  the 
capricious  vicissitudes  of  human  life,  when  we  reflect  that  all 
this  concourse  of  the  English  aristocracy  was  brought  about 
originally  by  the  ambition  of  a  man  who  had  been  a  felon  on 
the  hulks  to  rise,  as  a  member  of  the  police,  to  a  rather  better 
rank  in  its  hierarchy. 

By  a  no  less  singular  coincidence  the  piece  announced  was 
Paesiello's  "Nina,  o  la  Pazza  per  Amore  "  (mad  for  love), 
from  which  Luigia  had  sung  an  air  after  the  dinner  given  by 
Madame  de  Saint-Esteve. 

When  the  curtain  rose,  Sallenauve,  having  spent  nearly  a 
week  at  Hanwell  in  the  midst  of  mad  people,  could  all  the 
better  appreciate  the  prodigious  gifts  as  an  actress  displayed 
by  his  former  housekeeper  in  the  part  of  Nina ;  and  in  the 
face  of  her  heart-rending  imitation,  he  went  through  a  renewal 
of  all  the  distress  of  mind  he  had  just  gone  through  while 
watching  the  dreadful  reality  of  Marie-Gaston's  insanity. 

Bricheteau,  in  spite  of  his  annoyance  at  first  at  Sallenauve's 
dawdling,  as  he  called  it,  finally  fell  under  the  spell  of  the 
singer's  power;  and  at  last,  seeing  the  whole  house  frantic 
with  enthusiasm,  and  the  stage  strewn  with  bouquets,  he  said — 

"On  my  word,  I  can  wish  you  nothing  better  than  a  suc- 
cess in  any  degree  like  this  on  another  stage  !  "  and  then  he 
rashly  added :  " But  there  are  no  such  triumphs  in  politics! 
Art  alone  is  great " 

"And  la  Luigia  is  its  prophet !  "  replied  Sallenauve,  smil- 
ing through  the  tears  that  admiration  had  brought  to  his  eyes. 

On  coming  out  of  the  theatre,  Bricheteau  looked  at  his 
watch;  it  was  a  quarter  to  eleven,  and  by  making  great  haste 
there  was  still  time  to  get  on  board  the  packet  starting  at 
eleven.  But  when  the  organist  looked  round  to  urge  this  on 
Sallenauve,  who  was  to  follow  him  through  the  crowd;,  he  no 
longer  saw  his  man ;  the  deputy  had  vanished. 


18  THE  DEPOT Y  FOR  ARCIS. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  later  Luigia's  dresser  came  into  a 
room  where  her  mistress  was  receiving  the  compliments  of  the 
greatest  names  in  England,  introduced  to  her  by  Sir  Francis 
Drake.  She  gave  the  signora  a  card.  The  prima  donna  as 
she  read  it  changed  color,  and  whispered  a  few  words  to  the 
maid.  And  she  then  showed  such  obvious  anxiety  to  be  rid 
of  her  throng  of  admirers,  that  some  budding  adorers  could 
not  help  betraying  their  surprise. 

As  soon  as  she  was  alone,  she  hastily  resumed  her  ordinary 
dress  j  the  manager's  carriage  had  soon  conveyed  her  to  the 
hotel  where  she  had  been  living  since  her  arrival ;  and,  on 
entering  her  sitting-room,  she  found  Sallenauve,  who  had 
arrived  there  before  her. 

"  You  here,  monsieur  !  "  said  she.      "  It  is  a  dream  !  " 

"Especially  to  me,"  replied  Sallenauve,  "since  I  find  you 
in  London  after  having  sought  you  in  vain  in  Paris." 

**  You  took  so  much  trouble — but  why  ?  " 

**  You  left  us  in  so  strange  a  manner,  your  moods  are  so 
hasty,  you  knew  so  little  of  Paris,  and  so  many  dangers 
might  await  your  inexperience,  that  I  feared  everything  for 
you." 

"  What  harm  could  come  to  me?  "  said  she.  "  And  I  was 
neither  your  wife,  nor  your  sister,  nor  your  mistress ;  I  was 
only  your " 

"I  had  believed,"  Sallenauve  eagerly  put  in,  "that  you 
were  my  friend." 

"  I  was  your  debtor,"  said  Luigia.  "  I  saw  that  I  was  a 
trouble  to  you  in  your  new  position.  Could  I  do  otherwise 
than  relieve  you  of  my  presence  ?  " 

"  Pray,  who  had  impressed  you  with  that  intolerable  con- 
viction ?  Had  I  said  or  hinted  anything  to  that  effect  ?  Was 
it  impossible  to  discuss  a  plan  of  life  for  you  without  so  far 
offending  your  susceptibilities?  " 

"  I  feel  what  I  feel,"  said  the  Italian.  "I  myself  was 
conscious  that  you  wished  me  anywhere  rather  than  in  your 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  AH  CIS.  17 

house.  You  had  afforded  me  the  means  of  having  no  fears 
for  the  future ;  indeed,  as  you  see,  it  promises  to  be  anything 
rather  than  alarming." 

"  On  the  contrary,  it  promises  to  be  so  brilliant  that  but 
for  the  fear  of  seeming  too  presuming,  I  should  make  so  bold 
as  to  ask  from  whose  hand,  happier  than  mine,  you  have  ob- 
tained such  prompt  and  efficient  help." 

"  A  great  Swedish  nobleman,"  replied  Luigia  without  hes- 
itation, "who  spends  part  of  an  immense  fortune  in  the 
encouragement  of  art,  procured  me  this  engagement  at  Her 
Majesty's;  the  kind  indulgence  of  the  public  did  the  rest." 

"  Your  talent,  you  should  say.     I  heard  you  this  evening." 

"And  were  you  pleased  with  your  humble  servant?"  said 
the  singer,  with  a  coquettish  curtsey. 

"  Your  musical  achievements  did  not  surprise  me  ;  I  knew 
your  gifts  already,  and  an  infallible  judge  had  answered  for 
them  ;  but  your  flights  of  dramatic  passion,  your  acting,  at 
once  so  strong  and  so  sure  of  itself — that  indeed  amazed  me." 

"I  have  suffered  much,"  said  the  Italian,  "and  grief  is  a 
great  master." 

"  Suffered  !  "  said  Sallenauve ;  "  in  Italy,  yes.  But  since 
you  came  to  France  I  like  to  flatter  myself " 

"Everywhere,"  said  Luigia  in  a  broken  voice.  "I  was 
not  born  under  a  happy  star." 

"That  'Everywhere'  has  to  me  a  touch  of  reproach.  It 
is  late,  indeed,  to  be  telling  me  of  any  wrong  I  may  have 
done  you." 

"You  have  not  done  me  the  smallest  wrong.  The  mischief 
was  there  !  "  said  Luigia,  laying  her  hand  on  her  heart.  "  I 
alone  was  in  fault." 

"  From  some  fancy,  I  dare  say,  as  foolish  as  your  notion 
that  it  was  a  point  of  honor  that  you  should  quit  my  house?" 

"  Oh,  I  was  not  dreaming  then,"  said  the  Italian.     "How 
well  I  knew  what  lay  at  the  bottom  of  your  mind  !     If  it  were 
only  in  return  for  all  you  had  done  for  me,  I  ought  to  long 
2 


18  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

for  your  esteem,  and  yet  I  was  forbidden  even  to  aspire  so 
high." 

"  But,  my  dear  Luigia,  there  is  no  word  for  such  ideas. 
Did  I  ever  fail  in  consideration  and  respect?  And  beside, 
has  not  your  conduct  always  been  exemplary?  " 

"Yes,  I  have  tried  never  to  do  anything  that  could  make 
you  think  ill  of  me.  But  I  was  Benedetto's  widow,  all  the 
same." 

**  What !  Do  you  fancy  that  that  disaster,  the  outcome  of 
just  revenge " 

**  Nay.  It  was  not  the  man's  death  that  could  lower  me  in 
your  eyes  ;  quite  the  contrary.  But  I  had  been  the  wife  of  a 
buffoon,  of  a  police  spy,  of  a  wretch  always  ready  to  sell  me 
to  any  buyer " 

"While  you  were  in  that  position,  I  felt  that  you  were  to 
be  pitied,  but  scorned?     Never  !  " 

"Well,"  said  the  Italian,  "we  had  lived  together,  alone, 
under  the  same  roof,  for  nearly  two  years." 

"Certainly;  and  to  me  it  had  become  a  delightful  habit." 

"Did  you  think  me  ugly?" 

"You  know  I  did  not,  since  I  took  you  for  the  model  of 
my  best  statue." 

"A  fool?" 

"  A  woman  cannot  be  a  fool  who  puts  so  much  soul  into  a 
part." 

"  Well  then ;  it  is  evident  that  you  despised  me  !  " 

Sallenauve  was  utterly  amazed  at  this  prompt  logic ;  he 
thought  himself  clever  to  reply — 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  if  I  had  behaved  differently,  I  should 
have  given  greater  proof  of  contempt." 

But  he  had  to  deal  with  a  woman  who  in  all  things — in 
her  friendships  and  aversions,  in  act  as  well  as  in  word — went 
straight  to  the  mark. 

She  went  on  as  if  she  were  afraid  that  he  had  not  understood 
her. 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  19 

"At  this  day,  monsieur,  I  can  say  everything,  for  I  am 
talking  of  the  past,  and  the  future  is  no  longer  in  my  hands. 
Since  the  day  when  you  were  kind  to  me,  md  when  by  your 
generous  protection  I  was  rescued  from  an  outrageous  insult, 
my  heart  has  been  wholly  yours." 

Sallenauve,  who  had  never  suspected  the  existence  of  this 
feeling,  and  who,  above  all,  could  not  conceive  of  its  avowal, 
made  with  such  artless  crudity,  did  not  know  what  to  say. 

"I  was  well  aware,"  the  strange  creature  went  on,  *'that  I 
should  have  much  to  do  to  raise  myself  from  the  base  con- 
dition in  which  you  had  seen  me  at  our  first  meeting.  If  even 
at  the  moment  when  you  consented  to  take  me  with  you  I  had 
seen  any  signs  of  gallantry  in  your  behavior,  any  hint  that 
you  might  take  advantage  of  the  dangerous  position  in  which 
I  had  placed  myself  by  my  own  act,  my  heart  would  have 
shrunk  into  itself,  you  would  have  been  but  an  ordinary  man, 
and  to  rehabilitate  me  after  Benedetto  it  was  not  enough " 

'•And  so,"  said  Sallenauve,  ''  to  love  you  would  have  been 
an  insult,  and  not  to  love  was  cruelty.  What  a  woman  ! 
How  is  it  possible  to  avoid  offending  you  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  want  you  to  love  me  when  you  did  not  know 
me,"  said  the  singer,  "when  I  had  scarcely  shaken  off  the 
mire,  for  then  it  would  have  been  only  the  love  of  the  eye  and 
of  the  taste,  which  it  is  never  wise  to  trust.  But  when,  after 
living  in  your  house  for  two  years,  you  could  know  by  my 
conduct  that  I  was  worthy  of  your  esteem  ;  when,  without  ever 
craving  a  single  pleasure,  and  devoted  to  the  care  of  your 
house,  with  no  relaxation  but  the  study  which  was  to  raise  me 
to  the  dignity  of  an  artist  like  yourself,  I  could,  merely  for 
the  happiness  of  seeing  you  create  a  masterpiece,  sacrifice  the 
womanly  modesty  which  on  another  occasion  you  had  seen 
me  defend  with  vehemence — then  you  were  cruel  not  to  un- 
derstand ;  and  your  imagination  can  never,  never  picture  what 
I  have  suffered,  or  how  many  tears  I  have  shed  !  " 

**  But,  my  dear  Luigia,  you  were  my  guest ;  even  if  I  could 


20  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

have  suspected  what  you  now  reveal  to  me,  my  duty  as  a  man 
of  honor  required  me  to  see  nothing,  understand  nothing,  but 
on  the  plainest  evidence." 

"And  was  not  my  perpetual  melancholy  proof  enough?  If 
my  heart  had  been  free,  should  I  not  have  been  less  reserved 
and  more  familiar?  No — the  case  is  plain  enough  :  you  could 
see  nothing;  your  fancy  was  fixed  elsewhere." 

"Well,  and  if  it  were?" 

"It  ought  not  to  have  been,"  said  the  Italian  stringently. 
**  That  woman  was  not  free  ;  she  had  a  husband  and  children  ; 
and,  though  you  chose  to  make  a  saint  of  her,  even  if  I  had 
no  advantage  over  her  excepting  in  youth — though  that  is,  of 
course,  quite  absurd — it  seems  to  me  that  she  was  not  to  com- 
pare with  me." 

Sallenauve  could  not  help  smiling.  However,  he  replied 
quite  gravely : 

"You  are  altogether  mistaken  as  to  your  rival.  Madame 
de  I'Estorade  has  never  been  anything  to  me  but  a  head  to 
study,  and  even  so,  of  no  interest  whatever  but  for  her  like- 
ness to  another  woman.  That  woman  I  knew  at  Rome  before 
I  ever  saw  you.  She  had  beauty,  youth,  and  a  great  talent 
for  Art.  At  this  day  she  is  captive  in  a  convent ;  .so,  like  you, 
she  has  paid  tribute  to  sorrow ;  as  you  see,  all  your  perfec- 
tions  " 

"What !  Three  love  stories,  and  all  ending  in  air  !  "  said 
Luigia.  "You  were  born  under  a  strange  star,  indeed  !  Of 
course  when  I  was  so  misunderstood,  it  was  only  because  I 
was  under  its  maleficent  influence,  and  in  that  case  you  must 
be  forgiven." 

"  Then,  since  you  admit  me  to  mercy,  pray  allow  me  to 
return  to  my  former  question.  The  future,  you  tell  me,  is 
no  longer  in  your  hands  ;  the  astounding  frankness  of  your 
avowal  leads  me  to  infer  that,  to  give  you  such  boldness,  a 
very  solid  barrier  must  have  been  raised  between  you  and  me. 
Then  what  is  the  power  by  which,  at  one  leap,  you  have 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  21 

sprung  so  high  ?     Have  you,  then,  made  a  bargain  with  the 
devil?" 

"  Perhaps  so,"  said  Luigia,  laughing. 

"  Do  not  laugh,"  said  Sallenauve.  "You  chose  to  face  the 
hell  of  Paris  alone;  it  would  not  at  all  surprise  me  to  hear 
that  you  met  with  some  dangerous  acquaintance  at  starting. 
I  know  the  difficulties  that  the  greatest  artists  have  to  sur- 
mount before  they  can  get  a  hearing.  Do  you  know  whom  the 
foreign  gentleman  is  who  has  leveled  every  road  before  you  ?  " 

"  I  know  that  he  has  put  down  a  fabulous  sum  to  secure  my 
engagement ;  that  I  am  to  be  paid  fifty  thousand  francs ;  and 
that  he  did  not  even  accompany  me  to  London." 

"  Then  all  this  devotion  is  free,  gratis  ?  " 

"  Not  at  all.  My  patron  has  reached  the  age  at  which  a 
man  no  longer  loves,  but  has  a  great  deal  of  conceit.  So  his 
protection  is  to  be  widely  proclaimed,  and  I  have  pledged 
myself  to  do  nothing,  say  nothing,  that  may  give  the  lie  to 
his  fictitious  happiness.  To  you  alone  did  I  owe  the  truth  ; 
but  I  know  you  to  be  trustworthy,  and  I  entreat  you  to  keep 
it  absolutely  secret." 

"And  it  does  not  seem  improbable  to  you  that  this  state 
of  things  should  last  ?  But  how  and  where  did  you  make 
acquaintance  with  this  man  whom  you  think  you  can  for  ever 
feed  on  air?" 

"  Through  a  Dame  de  Charite  who  came  to  see  me  while 
you  were  away.  She  had  been  struck  by  my  voice  at  Saint- 
Sulpice  during  the  services  of  the  month  of  Mary,  and  she 
wanted  to  bribe  me  away  to  sing  at  her  parish  church,  Notre- 
Dame  de  Lorette." 

"What  was  the  lady's  name?" 

"Madame  de  Saint-Estevc." 

Though  he  did  not  know  all  the  depths  of  Jacqueline  Col- 
lin's existence,  Sallenauve  had  heard  of  Madame  de  Saint- 
Estfeve  as  a  money-lender  and  go-between ;  he  had  heard 
Bixiou  speak  of  her. 


22  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

"That  woman,"  said  he,  "has  a  notoriously  bad  reputation 
in  Paris.     She  is  an  agent  of  the  lowest  intrigues." 

"So  I  suspected,"  said  Luigia,  "  but  what  docs  that  matter 
to  me?" 

"  If  the  man  she  has  introduced  to  you " 

"Were  such  another  as  herself?"  interrupted  the  singer. 
"But  that  is  not  likely.  Tlie  hundred  thousand  crowns  he 
has  placed  in  the  manager's  hands  have  floated  the  theatre 
again." 

"  He  may  be  rich  and  yet  be  scheming  against  you.  The 
two  are  not  incompatible." 

"He  may  have  schemes  against  me,"  said  Luigia,  "but 
they  will  not  be  carried  out.  Between  them  and  me — / 
stand." 

"  But  your  reputation  ?  " 

"That  I  lost  when  I  left  your  house.  I  was  generally  sup- 
posed to  be  your  mistress ;  you  had  to  give  your  own  explana- 
tion to  your  constituency ;  and  you  contradicted  the  report, 
but  do  you  imagine  that  you  killed  it  ?  " 

"  And  my  esteem,  on  which  you  set  such  value  ?  " 

"  I  no  longer  need  it.  You  did  not  love  me  when  I  wanted 
it ;  you  will  not  love  me  when  I  no  longer  care." 

"  Who  can  tell  ?  "  said  Sallenauve. 

"There  are  two  reasons  against  it,"  replied  the  Italian. 
"  In  the  first  place,  it  is  too  late;  and  in  the  second,  we  no 
longer  tread  the  same  road." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  I  am  an  artist,  you  have  ceased  to  be  one.  I  am  rising, 
you  are  going  down." 

"You  call  it  going  down  to  rise  perhaps  to  the  highest  dig- 
nities of  State?" 

"  Whether  you  rise  or  not,"  cried  Luigia  ecstatically,  "  you 
will  be  beneath  your  past  self  and  the  splendid  future  that  lay 
before  you.  Indeed,  I  believe  I  have  deceived  you ;  I  believe 
if  you  had  still  been  a  sculptor,  I  should  yet  for  some  time 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  23 

have  endured  your  coldness  and  disdain  ;  at  any  rate,  I  should 
have  waited  till  after  my  first  trials  in  my  art,  hoping  that 
the  halo  which  lends  glory  to  a  woman  on  the  stage  might  at 
last,  perhaps,  have  made  you  aware  of  my  existence — there — at 
your  side.  But  from  the  day  of  your  apostasy,  I  could  no 
longer  persist  in  my  humiliating  sacrifice.  There  is  no  future 
in  common  for  us." 

"What!"  said  Sallenauve,  holding  out  his  hand,  which 
Luigia  did  not  take,  "  are  we  not  even  to  remain  friends  ?  " 

"A  friend — a  man  friend — you  have  already.  No,  it  is  all 
over  and  done  with.  We  shall  hear  of  each  other ;  and  from 
afar  as  we  cross  in  life  we  shall  wave  each  other  a  greeting, 
but  nothing  more." 

"And  this  is  how  all  is  to  end  between  you  and  me!  " 
said  Sallenauve  sadly. 

The  singer  looked  at  him  for  a  moment,  and  tears  sparkled 
in  her  eyes. 

"  Listen,"  said  she,  in  a  sincere  and  resolute  tone,  "  this 
much  is  possible.  I  have  loved  you,  and  after  you  no  man 
will  find  a  place  in  the  heart  you  scorned.  You  will  be  told 
that  I  have  lovers :  the  old  man  whom  I  am  pledged  to  own 
to,  and  others  after  him  perhaps ;  but  you  will  not  believe  it, 
remembering  the  woman  that  I  am.  And,  who  knows?  By 
and  by  your  life  may  be  swept  clear  of  the  other  affections 
which  barred  the  way  for  mine,  and  the  freedom,  the  eccen- 
tricity of  the  avowal  I  have  just  made  will  perhaps  remain 
stamped  on  your  memory — then  it  is  not  altogether  impossible 
that  after  such  long  wandering  you  may  at  last  want  me.  If 
that  should  happen — if,  as  the  result  of  bitter  disappointments, 
you  should  be  brought  back  to  the  belief  in  Art — well,  then, 
if  time  has  not  made  love  a  too  ridiculous  dream  for  us,  re- 
member this  night. 

"  Now  we  must  part,  for  it  is  late  for  a  iSte-d-Ute,  and  it  is 
the  semblance  of  fidelity  to  my  elderly  protector  that  I  am 
pledged  to  preserve." 


24  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

So  speaking,  she  took  up  a  candle  and  vanished  into  the 
adjoining  room,  leaving  Sallenauve  in  a  state  of  mind  that 
may  be  imagined  after  the  surprises  of  every  kind  that  this 
interview  had  brought  him. 

On  returning  to  the  hotel  whither  he  had  taken  his  things 
on  arriving  from  Hanwell,  he  found  Bricheteau  waiting  for 
him  at  the  door. 

"Where  the  devil  have  you  been?"  cried  the  organist, 
frantic  with  impatience.  "  We  might  have  got  off  by  to- 
night's boat." 

"Well,  well,"  said  Sallenauve  carelessly,  "I  shall  have  a 
few  more  hours  for  playing  truant." 

"  And  meanwhile  the  enemy  is  pushing  forward  the  mine  !  " 

"What  do  I  care?  In  that  cave  called  political  life  must 
we  not  be  prepared  for  whatever  happens  ?  ' ' 

"I  suspected  as  much,"  said  Bricheteau.  "You  have 
been  to  see  la  Luigia ;  her  success  has  turned  your  head,  and 
the  statuary  is  breaking  out  through  the  deputy." 

"You  yourself  an  hour  since  said  Art  alone  is  great." 

"  But  the  orator,  too,  is  an  artist,"  said  Bricheteau,  "  and 
the  greatest  of  all ;  for  other  artists  appeal  to  the  intellect 
and  the  feelings,  he  alone  addresses  the  conscience  and  the 
will.  Beside,  this  is  not  the  time  to  look  back ;  you  have  a 
duel  to  fight  with  your  opponents.  Are  you  a  man  of  honor 
or  a  rogue  who  has  stolen  a  name?  That  is  the  question 
which  is  perhaps  being  discussed  and  answered  in  your  ab- 
sence in  the  full  light  of  the  Chamber." 

"  I  am  sadly  afraid  that  you  have  misled  me ;  I  had  » 
jewel  in  my  hands,  and  have  flung  it  at  my  feet " 

"That,"  retorted  the  organist,  "is  happily  a  vapor  that 
will  vanish  with  the  night.  To-morrow  you  will  remember 
your  promises  to  your  father  and  the  splendid  future  that  lies 
before  you." 

The   Chambers  were  opened ;   Sallenauve  had   not  been 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  25 

present  at  the  royal  sitting,  and  his  absence  had  not  failed  to 
cause  some  sensation  in  the  democratic  party.  At  the  office 
of  the  **  National  "  especially  there  had  been  quite  a  commo- 
tion. It  seemed  only  natural  to  expect  that,  as  part  owner 
of  the  paper  and  often  to  be  seen  at  the  office  before  the  elec- 
tions, having  indeed  contributed  to  its  pages,  he  should,  after 
being  returned,  have  appeared  there  to  get  news  when  Parlia- 
ment opened. 

"  Now  he  is  elected,"  said  some  of  the  editors,  comment- 
ing on  the  new  deputy's  total  disappearance,  "does  my  gen- 
tleman think  he  is  going  to  play  the  snob  ?  It  is  rather  a 
common  trick  with  our  lords  and  masters  in  Parliament  to 
pay  us  very  obsequious  court  as  long  as  they  want  supporters, 
and  let  us  severely  alone,  like  their  old  coats,  as  soon  as  they 
have  climbed  the  tree.  But  we  cannot  allow  this  gentleman 
to  play  that  game  ;  there  are  more  ways  than  one  of  turning 
the  tables  on  a  man." 

The  chief  editor,  less  easily  disturbed,  had  tried  to  soothe 
this  first  ebullition ;  but  Sallenauve's  non-appearance  at  the 
opening  of  the  session  had,  nevertheless,  struck  him  as 
strange. 

On  the  following  day,  when  the  government  officials  were 
to  be  appointed — the  presidents  and  secretaries — a  business 
which  is  not  unimportant,  because  it  affords  a  means  of  esti- 
mating the  majority,  Sallenauve's  absence  was  of  more  real 
consequence.  In  the  office  to  which  fate  had  attached  him, 
the  election  of  the  head  was  carried  by  the  Ministerialists  by 
only  one  vote ;  thus  the  presence  of  the  Deputy  for  Arcis 
would  have  turned  the  scale  in  favor  of  the  Opposition. 
Hence  the  expression  of  strong  disapproval  in  the  organs  of 
that  party,  explaining  its  defeat  by  this  unforeseen  defection, 
of  which  they  spoke  with  some  acrimonious  surprise.  They 
applied  no  epithets  to  the  absentee's  conduct,  but  they  spoke 
of  it  as  quite  **  inexplicable." 

Maxime  on  his  part  kept  a  sharp   lookout;   he  was  only 


26  THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

waiting  till  the  official  ranks  of  the  Chamber  should  be  filled 
to  lay  before  the  House,  in  the  name  of  the  Romilly  peasant- 
woman,  a  petition  to  prosecute.  This  document  had  been 
drawn  up  by  Massol,  and  under  his  practiced  pen,  the  facts  he 
had  undertaken  to  set  forth  had  assumed  the  air  of  probability 
which  attorneys  contrive  to  give  to  their  statements  and  de- 
positions even  when  furthest  from  the  truth.  And  now,  when 
Sallenauve's  absence  was  so  prolonged  as  to  seem  scandalous, 
he  went  once  more  to  call  on  Rastignac ;  and  availing  him- 
self of  the  ingenious  plan  of  attack  suggested  by  Desroches, 
he  asked  the  minister  if  he  did  not  think  that  the  moment 
had  come  when  he,  Rastignac,  should  abandon  the  attitude 
of  passive  observation  which  he  had  hitherto  chosen  to  main- 
tain. 

Rastignac  was,  in  fact,  far  more  explicit.  Sallenauve  in  a 
foreign  land  figured  in  his  mind  as  a  man  conscience-stricken, 
who  had  lost  his  balance.  He  therefore  advised  Monsieur  de 
Trailles  to  bring  forward  the  preliminaries  of  the  action  that 
very  day,  and  no  longer  hesitated  to  promise  his  support  for 
the  success  of  a  scheme  which  now  looked  so  hopeful,  and 
from  which  a  very  pretty  scandal  might  reasonably  be  looked 
for. 

The  effects  of  his  underground  influence  were  obvious  on 
the  very  next  day.  The  order  of  the  day  in  the  Lower 
Chamber  was  the  verification  of  the  returns.  The  deputy 
whose  duty  it  was  to  report  on  the  election  at  Arcis-sur-Aube 
happened  to  be  a  trusty  Ministerialist,  and,  acting  on  the 
private  instructions  that  had  reached  him,  he  took  this  view 
of  the  case : 

The  constituents  of  Arcis  had  elected  their  member  accord- 
ing to  law.  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  had,  in  due  course,  sub- 
mitted to  the  examining  committee  all  the  documents  needed 
to  prove  his  eligibility,  and  there  was  no  apparent  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  his  taking  his  seat.  But  reports  of  a  strange 
character  had  arisen,  even  at  the  time  of  the  election,  as  to 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  27 

the  new  deputy's  identification,  and  in  further  support  of 
those  rumors  a  petition  had  now  been  presented  to  the  House 
to  authorize  a  criminal  prosecution.  This  petition  set  forth  a 
very  serious  accusation  :  Monsieur  de  Sallenauvc  was  said  to 
have  assumed  the  name  he  bore  without  any  right,  and  this 
assumption  being  certified  on  an  official  document,  was  in- 
dictable as  a  forgery  committed  for  the  purpose  of  false  persona- 
tion. "A  circumstance  much  to  be  regretted,"  the  speaker 
went  on,  *•'  was  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve's  absence ;  instead  of 
appearing  to  contradict  the  extraordinary  accusation  lodged 
against  him,  he  had  remained  absent  from  the  sittings  of  the 
Chamber  ever  since  the  opening  of  the  session,  and  nobody  had 
seen  him.  Under  these  circumstances  could  his  election  be 
officially  ratified  ?  The  committee  had  thought  not,  and  pro- 
posed that  a  delay  should  be  granted." 

Daniel  d'Arthez,  a  member  of  the  Legitimist  Opposition, 
whom,  as  we  saw  at  Arcis,  was  in  favor  of  Sallenauve's  return, 
at  once  rose  to  address  the  Chamber,  and  begged  to  point  out 
how  completely  out  of  order  such  a  decision  would  be. 

"  The  legality  of  the  election  was  beyond  dispute.  No 
irregularity  had  been  proved.  Hence,  the  Chamber  had  no 
alternative  ;  they  must  put  the  question  to  the  vote,  and  recog- 
nize the  election  as  regular  and  valid,  since  there  was  nothing 
to  invalidate  it.  To  confuse  with  that  issue  the  question  as 
to  a  petition  to  prosecute  would  be  an  abuse  of  power,  be- 
cause, by  hindering  any  preliminary  discussion  of  that  ques- 
tion, and  relieving  the  indictment  of  the  usual  formalities  be- 
fore its  acceptance  or  rejection,  it  would  assume  a  singular 
and  exceptional  character — that,  namely,  of  a  suspension  of 
the  mandate  granted  to  their  member  by  the  sovereign  power 
of  the  electors.  And  who,"  added  the  orator,  "  can  fail  to 
perceive  that  by  giving  effect  to  this  petition  for  authority  to 
prosecute,  in  any  form  whatever,  we  prejudge  its  justification 
and  importance  ;  whereas  the  presumption  of  innocence,  which 
is  the  prerogative  of  every  accused  person,  ought  to  be  es- 

P 


28  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

pecially  extended  to  a  man  whose  honesty  has  never  been 
open  to  doubt,  and  who  has  so  lately  been  honored  by  the 
suffrages  of  his  fellow-citizens." 

A  prolonged  discussion  followed,  the  Ministerial  speakers 
naturally  taking  the  opposite  view;  then  a  difficulty  arose. 
The  president  for  the  time  being,  in  right  of  seniority — for 
the  Chamber  had  not  yet  elected  its  chief — was  a  weary  old 
man,  who,  in  the  complicated  functions  so  suddenly  conferred 
on  him  by  his  register  of  birth,  was  not  always  prompt  and 
competent.  Sallenauve's  application  for  leave  of  absence 
had  reached  him  the  day  before ;  and  if  it  had  occurred  to 
him  to  announce  it  to  the  Chamber  at  the  beginning  of  the 
sitting — as  he  ought  to  have  done — the  discussion  would 
probably  have  been  nipped  in  the  bud.  But  there  is  luck 
and  ill-luck  in  parliamentary  business;  and  when  the  Chamber 
learned  from  this  letter,  at  last  communicated,  t^hat  Charles 
de  Sallenauve  was  abroad,  and  had  no  ground  to  offer  for  this 
application  for  unlimited  leave  but  the  vague  commonplace  of 
"urgent  private  affairs,"  the  effect  was  disastrous. 

"It  is  self-evident,"  said  all  the  Ministerialists,  like  Rastig- 
nac,"  he  is  in  England,  where  every  form  of  failure  takes  refuge. 
He  is  afraid  of  the  inquiry;  he  knows  he  will  be  unmasked." 

This  opinion,  apart  from  all  the  political  feeling,  was  shared 
by  some  of  the  sterner  spirits,  who  could  not  conceive  that  a 
man  should  not  appear  to  defend  himself  against  so  gross  an 
accusation.  In  short,  after  a  very  strong  and  skillful  speech 
from  Vinet  the  public  prosecutor,  who  had  found  courage  in 
the  absence  of  the  accused,  the  confirmation  of  the  election 
was  postponed,  though  by  a  very  small  majority;  at  the  same 
time,  a  week's  leave  of  absence  was  voted  to  the  accused 
member. 

On  the  day  after  these  proceedings,  Maxime  wrote  as  follows 
to  Madame  Beauvisage : 

*'  Madame: — The  enemy  met  with  a  terrible  reverse  yester- 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  29 

day ;  and  in  the  opinion  of  my  friend  Rastignac,  a  very  ex- 
perienced and  intelligent  judge  of  parliamentary  feeling,  Dor- 
lange,  whatever  happens,  cannot  recover  from  the  blow  thus 
dealt  him.  If  we  should  fail  to  procure  any  positive  proof  in 
support  of  our  worthy  countrywoman's  charge,  it  is  possible 
that  the  scoundrel,  by  sheer  audacity,  m.ay  finally  be  accepted 
by  the  Chamber,  if,  indeed,  he  dares  show  his  face  in  France. 
But  even  then,  after  dragging  on  a  sordid  existence  utterly 
unrecognized,  he  will  inevitably  ere  long  be  driven  to  resign ; 
then  M.  Beauvisage  will  be  elected  beyond  doubt,  for  the 
constituency,  ashamed  of  having  been  taken  in  by  an  adven- 
turer, will  be  only  too  happy  to  reinstate  themselves  by  a 
choice  that  will  do  them  honor,  beside  having  been  their  first 
instinctive  selection. 

'*This  result,  madame,  will  be  due  to  your  remarkable 
sagacity;  for,  but  for  the  sort  of  second-sight  which  enabled 
you  to  divine  the  precious  truth  hidden  under  the  peasant- 
woman's  story,  we  should  have  overlooked  that  valuable  in- 
strument. I  may  tell  you,  madame,  even  if  it  should  inflate 
your  pride,  that  neither  Rastignac  nor  Vinet,  the  public 
prosecutor,  understood  the  full  importance  of  your  discovery ; 
indeed,  I  myself,  if  I  had  not  been  so  happy  as  to  know  you, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  appreciate  the  value  attaching  to  any  idea 
of  yours,  might  very  probably  have  shared  the  indifference  of 
these  two  statesmen  as  to  the  useful  weapon  you  were  putting 
into  our  hands.  But,  as  the  gift  came  from  you,  I  at  once 
understood  its  importance;  and  while  pointing  out  to  Ras- 
tignac the  means  of  utilizing  it,  I  succeeded  in  making  my 
friend  the  minister  an  eager  partner  in  the  plot,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  a  sincere  admirer  of  the  skill  and  perspicacity  of 
which  you  had  given  proof. 

"  Thus,  madame,  if  I  should  ever  be  so  happy  as  to  be 
connected  with  you  by  the  bond  of  which  we  have  already 
spoken,  I  shall  not  need  to  initiate  you  into  political  life;  yoi 
have  found  the  path  so  well  unaided. 


30  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

**  Nothing  new  can  happen  within  the  next  week,  the  length 
of  leave  granted  to  our  man.  If  after  that  date  the  absentee 
does  not  appear,  there  is,  I  think,  no  doubt  that  the  election 
will  be  pronounced  null  and  void  ;  for  yesterday's  vote,  which 
you  will  have  read  in  the  papers,  is  a  positive  summons  to  him 
to  appear  in  his  place.  You  may  be  sure  that  between  this 
and  his  return — if  he  should  return — I  shall  not  fail  to  devote 
myself  to  fomenting  the  antagonistic  feeling  of  the  Chamber 
both  by  the  press  and  by  private  communications.  Rastignac 
has  also  issued  orders  to  this  end,  and  it  is  safe  to  conclude 
that  the  foe  will  find  public  opinion  strongly  prejudiced 
against  him. 

"Allow  me,  madame,  to  beg  you  to  remember  me  to  Made- 
moiselle Cecile,  and  accept  for  yourself  and  Monsieur  Beau- 
visage  the  expression  of  my  most  respectful  regard." 

A  few  words  of  instructions  to  the  Ministerial  press  had,  in 
fact,  begun  to  surround  the  name  of  Sallenauve  with  a  sort  of 
atmosphere  of  disrespect  and  ridicule ;  the  most  insulting 
innuendoes  ascribed  to  his  absence  the  sense  of  a  retreat  from 
his  foes.  The  effect  of  these  repeated  attacks  was  all  the  more 
inevitable  because  Sallenauve  was  but  feebly  defended  by  the 
politicians  of  his  own  party. 

On  the  day  when  his  week's  leave  ended,  Sallenauve,  not 
having  yet  returned,  a  second-rate  Ministerial  paper  published, 
under  the  heading  of  "Lost,  a  Deputy!"  an  insolent  and 
witty  article  which  made  a  considerable  sensation. 

That  evening  Madame  de  I'Estorade  called  on  Madame  de 
Camps,  and  found  fier  alone  with  her  husband.  She  was 
greatly  excited,  and  exclaimed  as  she  went  in — 

"Have  you  read  that  infamous  article?" 

"No,"  said  Madame  de  Camps.  "But  my  husband  has 
told  me  about  it ;  it  is  really  disgraceful  that  the  Ministry 
should  order,  or  at  least  encourage,  anything  so  utterly  vile 
and  atrocious." 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  31 

"  I  am  half-crazed  by  it,"  said  Madame  de  I'Estorade,  "  for 
it  is  all  our  doing." 

"  That  is  carrying  conscientious  scruples  too  far,"  said 
Madame  de  Camps. 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  the  ironmaster.  "  I  agree  with  madame. 
All  the  venom  of  this  attack  would  be  dispersed  by  a  single 
step  on  I'Estorade's  part;  and  by  refusing  to  take  it,  if  he  is 
not  the  originator,  he  is  at  least  the  abettor  of  the  scandal." 

"Then  you  have  told  him ?"  asked  the  countess  re- 
proachfully. 

"Why,  my  dear,"  replied  Madame  Octave,  "though  we 
have  our  little  women's  secrets,  I  could  not  but  explain  to 
my  husband  what  had  given  rise  to  the  sort  of  monomania 
that  possesses  Monsieur  de  I'Estorade.  It  would  have  been 
such  a  distrust  of  my  second  self  as  would  have  hurt  him 
deeply ;  and  such  explanations  as  I  felt  bound  to  give  him 
have  not,  I  think,  made  me  a  faithless  depository  of  any  secret 
that  concerns  yoa  personally." 

"Ah,  you  are  a  happy  couple!  "  said  Madame  de  I'Esto- 
rade, with  a  sigh.  "  However,  I  am  not  sorry  that  Monsieur 
de  Camps  should  have  been  admitted  to  our  confidence ;  the 
point  is,  to  find  some  way  out  of  the  difficult  position  in 
which  I  am  struggling,  and  two  opinions  are  better  than  one." 

"Why,  what  has  happened?"   asked  Madame  de  Camps. 

"  My  husband's  head  is  quite  turned,"  replied  the  countess. 
"  He  seems  to  me  to  have  lost  every  trace  of  moral  sense. 
Far  from  perceiving  that  he  is,  as  Monsieur  de  Camps  said 
just  now,  the  abettor  of  the  odious  contest  now  going  on, 
without  having — as  those  had  who  started  it — the  excuse  of 
ignorance,  he  seems  to  exult  in  it.  He  brought  me  that  de- 
testable paper  with  an  air  of  triumph,  and  I  found  him  quite 
ready  to  take  offense  because  I  did  not  agree  with  him  in 
thinking  it  most  amusing  and  witty." 

"That  letter,"  said  Madame  Octave,  "was  a  terrible  blow 
to  him ;  it  hit  hina  body  asd  soul  at  once." 


32  THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

*'That  I  grant,"  cried  the  ironmaster.  "But  deuce  take 
it !  If  you  are  a  man,  you  take  a  lunatic's  words  for  what 
they  are  worth." 

"Still,  it  is  very  strange,"  said  his  wife,  "that  Monsieur 
de  Sallenauve  does  not  come  back  ;  for,  after  all,  that  Jacques 
Bricheteau  to  whom  you  gave  his  address  must  have  written 
him." 

"What  is  to  be  done  !  "  exclaimed  the  countess.  "  There 
has  been  a  fatality  over  the  whole  business.  To-morrow  the 
question  is  to  be  discussed  in  the  Chamber  as  to  whether  or 
not  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve's  election  is  to  be  ratified  ;  and 
if  he  should  not  then  be  in  his  place,  the-  Ministry  hopes  to 
be  able  to  annul  it." 

"But  it  really  is  atrocious!"  said  Monsieur  de  Camps j 
"  and  though  my  position  hardly  justifies  me  in  taking  such  a 
step,  a  very  little  would  make  me  go  straight  to  the  president 
of  the  Chamber  and  tell  him  a  few  home  truths " 

"  I  would  have  begged  you  to  do  so,  I  think,  even  at  the 
risk  of  my  husband's  detecting  my  intervention,  but  for  one 
consideration — it  would  distress  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  so 
greatly  that  his  friend's  unhappy  state  should  be  made 
public." 

"Certainly,"  said  Madame  Octave.  "Such  a  line  of  de- 
fense would  evidently  be  contrary  to  his  intentions ;  and,  after 
all,  he  may  yet  arrive  in  time.  Beside,  the  decision  of  the 
Chamber  still  remains  problematical,  while,  Monsieur  Marie- 
Gaston's  madness  once  known,  he  can  never  get  over  the 
blow." 

"And  then,"  added  Madame  de  TEstorade,  "  all  the  odious 
part  that  my  husband  has  taken  so  far  in  this  dreadful  business 
is  as  nothing  in  comparison  with  a  really  diabolical  idea 
which  he  communicated  to  me  just  now  before  dinner." 

"  What  can  that  be?  "  asked  Madame  de  Camps  anxiously. 

"  His  idea  is  that  to-morrow  I  am  to  go  with  him  to  the 
gnllery  reserved  for  the  peers  to  hear  the  question  discussed." 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  33 

•*  Really  he  is  losing  his  wits  !  "  said  Monsieur  de  Camps. 
*'  It  is  quite  like  Diafoirus  the  younger,  who  offers  his  bride- 
elect  the  diversion  of  seeing  a  dissection " 

Madame  de  Camps  shook  her  head  meaningly  at  her  hus- 
band, as  much  as  to  say:  ''  Do  not  pour  oil  on  the  flames." 
She  merely  asked  the  countess  if  she  had  not  shown  Monsieur 
de  I'Estorade  how  monstrous  such  a  singular  proceeding  would 
appear. 

*'At  the  very  first  word  I  spoke  to  that  effect,  he  flew  into 
a  rage,"  said  Madame  de  I'Estorade,  ''telling  me  that  I  was 
apparently  only  too  glad  to  perpetuate  a  belief  in  our  intimacy 
with  this  man,  since,  on  an  opportunity  when  I  could  so  natu- 
rally proclaim  our  rupture  to  the  public,  I  so  resolutely  de- 
clined it." 

"  Well,  then,  my  dear,  you  must  go,"  said  Madame  Octave. 
"Domestic  peace  before  all  things.  Beside,  after  all,  your 
presence  at  the  sitting  may  equally  well  be  regarded  as  a  proof 
of  kindly  interest." 

"  For  fifteen  years,"  said  the  ironmaster,  "  you  have  reigned 
and  ruled  at  home,  and  this  is  a  revolution  which  seriously 
shifts  the  focus  of  power." 

"  But,  monsieur,  I  beg  you  to  believe  that  I  should  never 
have  made  such  use  of  the  sovereignty,  which  indeed  I  have 
always  tried  to  conceal." 

"Do  I  not  know  it?"  replied  Monsieur  de  Camps  warmly, 
as  he  took  Madame  de  I'Estorade's  hands  in  his  own.  "But 
I  agree  with  my  wife — this  cup  must  be  drained." 

"I  shall  die  of  shame  as  I  listen  to  the  infamous  charges 
the  Ministerial  party  will  bring !  I  shall  feel  as  if  they  were 
murdering  a  man  under  my  own  eyes,  whom  I  could  save  by 
merely  putting  my  hand  out — and  I  cannot  do  it " 

"Yes,  it  is  so,"  said  Monsieur  de  Camps.     "And  a  man, 
too,  who  has  done  you  signal  service ;  but  would  you  rather 
bring  hell  into  your  house,  and  aggravate  your  husband's  un- 
healthy state  ?  " 
3 


34  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

**  Listen,  ray  dear,"  said  Madame  de  Camps.  *'  Tell  Mon- 
sieur  de  I'Estorade  that  I  also  wish  to  go  to  this  sitting;  that 
it  will  give  less  cause  for  comment  if  you  are  seen  there  with 
a  person  who  is  uninterested  and  merely  curious ;  and  on  that 
point  do  not  give  way.  Then,  at  any  rate,  I  shall  be  there  to 
keep  your  head  straight  on  your  shoulders  and  preserve  you 
from  yourself." 

**  I  should  not  have  dared  to  ask  it  of  you,"  replied  Madame 
de  I'Estorade,  "  for  one  does  not  like  to  ask  any  one  to  assist 
in  evil-doing ;  but  since  you  are  so  generous  as  to  offer  it,  I 
feel  I  am  a  degree  less  wretched.  Now,  good-night,  for  my 
husband  must  not  find  me  out  when  he  comes  in.  He  was  to 
dine  with  Monsieur  de  Rastignac,  and  no  doubt  they  have 
plotted  great  things  for  to-morrow." 

*'  Go  then ;  and  in  an  hour  or  so  I  will  send  you  a  note,  as 
though  I  had  not  seen  you,  to  ask  if  you  have  any  power  to 
admit  me  to  the  Chamber  to-morrow,  as  the  meeting  promises 
to  be  interesting." 

**  Oh  !     To  be  brought  so  low  as  to  plot  and  contrive " 

said  Madame  de  I'Estorade,  embracing  her  friend. 

"My  dear  child,"  replied  Madame  de  Camps,  *'it  is  said 
that  the  life  of  the  Christian  is  a  warfare ;  but  that  of  a  woman 
married  to  a  certain  type  of  man  is  a  pitched  battle.  Be 
patient  and  take  courage." 

And  so  the  friends  parted. 

At  about  two  o'clock  on  the  following  day  Madame  de 
I'Estorade,  with  her  husband  and  Madame  de  Camps,  took 
her  seat  in  the  peers*  gallery ;  she  looked  ill,  and  returned  the 
bows  that  greeted  her  from  various  parts  of  the  Chamber  with 
cool  indifference.  Madame  de  Camps,  who  had  never  before 
found  herself  in  the  parliamentary  Chamber,  made  two  obser- 
vations :  In  the  first  place,  she  exclaimed  at  the  slovenly  ap- 
pearance of  so  many  of  the  honorable  members ;  and  then  she 
was  struck  by  the  number  of  bald  heads  which,  as  she  looked 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  35 

down  on  them  from  the  gallery  that  gave  her  a  bird's-eye 
view  of  the  assembly,  surprised  her  greatly. 

She  then  listened  while  Monsieur  de  I'Estorade  named  the 
notabilities  present ;  first  of  all  the  bigwigs,  who  need  not  be 
mentioned  here,  since  their  names  dwell  in  everybody's  mem- 
ory ;  then  Canalis  the  poet,  who  had,  she  thought,  an  Olym- 
pian air;  d'Arthez,  whose  modest  demeanor  greatly  attracted 
her;  Vinet,  who,  as  she  said,  was  like  a  viper  in  spectacles; 
Victorin  Hulot,  one  of  the  orators  of  the  Left  Centre. 

It  was  written  by  the  finger  of  fate  that  Madame  de  I'Esto- 
rade should  be  spared  no  form  of  annoyance.  Just  as  the  sit- 
ting was  about  to  open,  the  Marquise  d'Espard,  escorted  by 
Monsieur  de  Ronquerolles,  came  into  the  gallery,  and  took  a 
seat  close  to  her.  Though  they  met  in  society,  the  two  women 
could  not  endure  each  other.  Madame  de  I'Estorade  scorned 
the  spirit  of  intrigue,  the  total  want  of  principle,  and  the 
spiteful,  bitter  temper  which  the  marquise  concealed  under 
the  most  elegant  manners;  while  Madame  d'Espard  had  even 
deeper  contempt  for  what  she  called  the  "  pot-boiling  "  virtues 
of  the  countess.  It  must  be  added  that  Madame  de  I'Estorade 
was  two-and-thirty,  and  of  a  type  of  beauty  that  time  had 
spared ;  while  Madame  d'Espard  was  forty-four,  and,  in  spite 
of  the  arts  of  the  toilet,  her  looks  were  altogether /dij-j*;. 

"  Do  you  often  come  here?  "  she  said  to  the  countess,  after 
a  few  indispensable  civilities  as  to  the  pleasure  of  meeting  her. 

"Never,"  said  Madame  de  I'Estorade. 

"I  am  a  constant  visitor,"  said  Madame  d'Espard. 

Then,  with  the  air  of  making  a  discovery — 

"To  be  sure,"  she  added,  "you  have  a  special  interest  in 
the  meeting  to-day.  Some  one  you  know,  I  believe,  is  on  his 
trial." 

"Yes,  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  has  visited  at  my  house." 

"  It  is  most  distressing,"  said  the  marquise,  "  to  see  a  man 
who,  as  Monsieur  de  Ronquerolles  assures  me,  was  quite  a  hero 
in  his  way  thus  called  to  account  by  the  police." 


36  THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

**  His  chief  crime,  so  far,  is  his  absence,"  said  the  countess 
drily. 

"And  he  is  consumed  by  ambition,  it  would  seem,"  Mad- 
ame d'Espard  went  on.  "Before  this  attempt  to  get  into 
Parliament  he  had  matrimonial  projects,  as  you  no  doubt 
know,  and  had  tried  to  marry  into  the  Lanty  family — a  scheme 
which,  so  far  as  the  handsonie  heiress  was  concerned,  ended 
in  her  retirement  to  a  convent." 

Madame  de  I'Estorade  was  not  astonished  to  find  that  this 
story,  which  Sallenauve  had  believed  to  be  a  perfect  secret, 
was  known  to  the  marquise ;  she  was  one  of  the  best-informed 
women  in  Paris.  An  old  Academician  had  called  her  draw- 
ing-room, in  mythological  parlance,  "  The  Temple  of  Fame." 

"They  are  about  to  begin,  I  think,"  said  the  countess, 
who,  .always  expecting  to  feel  Madame  d'Espard's  claws,  was 
not  sorry  to  close  the  conversation. 

The  president  had  in  fact  rung  his  bell,  the  members  were 
settling  into  their  places,  the  curtain  was  about  to  rise. 

To  give  the  reader  a  faithful  account  of  the  sitting,  we  think 
it  will  be  at  once  more  exact  and  more  convenient  to  copy 
the  report  as  printed  in  one  of  the  papers  of  the  day. 

CHAMBER   OF  DEPUTIES. 
Monsieur  Cointet  (Vice-President)  in  the  Chair. 
May  2T,d. 
The  President  took  the  chair  at  two  o'clock. 
On  the  Ministers'  bench  were  the  Keeper  of  the  Seals,  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  the  Minister  of  Public  Works. 
The  report  of  the  last  meeting  was  read  and  passed. 
The  order  of  the  day  was  to  discuss  the  validity  of  the 
election  of  the  member  returned  by  the  borough  of  Arcis- 
sur-Aube. 

The  President — The  representative  of  the  Commission  of 
Inquiry  will  read  his  report. 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  37 

The  Reporter — Gentlemen,  the  strange  and  unsatisfactory 
position  in  which  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  has  thought  proper 
to  place  himself  has  not  ended  as  we  had  reason  to  hope. 
Monsieur  de  Sallenauve's  leave  of  absence  expired  yesterday, 
and  he  still  remains  away  from  the  sittings  of  the  Chamber  ; 
nor  has  any  letter  from  him  applying  for  further  extension 
reached  the  President's  hands.  This  indifference  as  to  the 
functions  which  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  had  sought,  it  would 
seem,  with  unusual  eagerness  (murmurs  from  the  Left),  would 
under  any  circumstances  be  a  serious  defection  ;  but  when  it 
is  coupled  with  the  prosecution  now  threatened,  does  it  not 
assume  a  character  highly  damaging  to  his  reputation  ?  (Mur- 
murs from  the  Left.  Applause  from  the  Centre.)  Your  Com- 
missioners, compelled  to  seek  the  solution  of  a  question  which 
may  be  said  to  be  unexampled  in  parliamentary  annals,  when 
considering  the  steps  to  be  taken,  were  divided  by  two  oppo- 
site opinions.  The  minority,  of  which  I  am  the  sole  repre- 
sentative— the  Commissioners  being  but  three — thought  that 
a  plan  should  be  laid  before  you  which  I  may  call  radical  in 
its  character,  and  which  aims  at  settling  the  difficulty  by  sub- 
mitting it  to  its  natural  judges.  Annul  M,  de  Sallenauve's 
election  hie  et  nunc,  and  send  him  back  to  the  constituency 
which  returned  him,  and  of  which  he  is  so  faithless  a  repre- 
sentative: this  is  the  first  alternative  I  have  to  offer  you. 
(Excitement  on  the  Left.)  The  majority,  on  the  contrary, 
pronounced  that  the  electors'  vote  must  be  absolutely  re- 
spected, and  the  shortcomings  of  a  man  honored  by  their 
confidence  must  be  overlooked  to  the  utmost  limits  of  patience 
and  indulgence.  Consequently,  the  Commission  requires  me 
to  propose  that  you  should  officially  extend  M.  de  Sallenauve's 
leave  of  absence  to  a  fortnight  from  this  date — (murmurs  from 
the  Centre.  "Hear,  hear,"  from  the  Left) — with  the  full 
understanding  that  if  by  the  end  of  that  time  M.  de  Salle- 
nauve has  given  no  sign  of  life,  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  simply 
having  resigned  his  seat  without  entangling  this  House  in  any 


38  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

irritating  and  useless  discussion  of  the  matter.     (Excitement 
on  all  sides.) 

M.  le  Colonel  Franchessini,  who,  during  the  reading  of  the 
report,  had  been  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  with  the 
Minister  of  Public  Works  on  the  Ministers'  bench,  anxiously 
begged  to  be  heard. 

The  Presideyit — M.  de  Canalis  wishes  to  speak. 

M.  de  Canalis — Gentlemen,  M.  de  Sallenauve  is  one  of 
those  bold  men  who,  like  me,  believe  that  politics  are  not  a 
forbidden  fruit  to  any  intelligent  mind ;  but  that  the  stuff  of 
which  a  statesman  is  made  may  be  found  in  a  poet  or  an  artist 
quite  as  much  as  in  a  lawyer,  an  official,  a  doctor,  or  a  land- 
owner. In  virtue,  then,  of  our  common  origin,  M.  de  Salle- 
nauve has  my  fullest  sympathy,  and  no  one  will  be  surprised 
to  see  me  mount  this  tribune  to  support  the  recommendation 
of  the  Commission.  Still,  I  cannot  agree  to  their  final  de- 
cision ;  for  the  idea  of  our  colleague  being  regarded,  by  the 
mere  fact  of  his  prolonged  absence  beyond  the  limit  of  leave, 
as  having  resigned  his  seat,  is  repugnant  both  to  my  conscience 
and  my  reason.  You  have  heard  it  remarked  that  M.  de 
Sallenauve's  carelessness  as  to  his  duties  is  all  the  less  excusable 
because  he  lies  under  a  serious  charge ;  but  supposing,  gentle- 
men, that  this  charge  were  the  actuating  cause  of  his  absence. 
(Laughter  from  the  Centre.)  Allow  me — I  am  not  so  guile- 
less as  the  laughers  seem  to  fancy.  It  is  my  good  fortune,  by 
nature,  that  base  suggestions  do  not  occur  to  me ;  and  that 
M.  de  Sallenauve,  with  the  high  position  he  had  achieved  as 
an  artist,  should  plot  to  take  his  seat  in  this  Chamber  by 
means  of  a  crime,  is  a  theory  I  refuse  to  admit.  Two  foul 
spiders  are  ever  ready  to  spin  their  web  about  a  man  with 
such  a  stain  on  his  birth — Chicanery  and  Intrigue.  But  I, 
far  from  admitting  that  he  would  have  fled  before  the  charge 
brought  against  him,  I  say,  suppose  that  at  this  moment, 
abroad,  he  were  collecting  the  evidence  for  his  defense  ? 
('•Hear,  hear;  well  said!"  from  the  Left.)     In  this  belief, 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  39 

— a  very  plausible  one,  as  it  seems  to  me — far  from  being 
justified  in  requiring  a  strict  account  of  his  absence,  ought 
we  not  rather  to  regard  it  as  a  proof  of  respect  for  this  House, 
as  feeling  himself  unworthy  to  take  his  place  in  it  till  he  was 
I  in  a  position  to  defy  his  accusers  ? 

\  A  Voice — Ten  years'  leave  of  absence,  like  Telemachus,  to 

\  look  for  his  father.     (General  laughter.) 

M.  de  Canalis — I  did  not  expect  so  romantic  an  interrup- 
tion !  But  since  we  are  referred  to  the  Odyssey,  I  may  re- 
mind you  that  Ulysses,  after  suffering  every  outrage,  at  last 
drew  his  bow,  very  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  suitors. 
(Loud  murmurs  from  the  Centre.)  I  vote  for  a  fortnight's 
further  leave,  and  a  reopening  of  the  question  at  the  end  of 
that  time. 

M.  le  Colonel  Franchessini — I  do  not  know  whether  the 
last  speaker  intended  to  intimidate  the  Chamber ;  for  my 
part,  such  arguments  affect  me  very  little,  and  I  am  always 
prepared  to  return  them  to  those  who  utter  them.  ("  Order, 
order,"  from  the  Left.) 

M.  le  President — No  personalities,  colonel. 

M.  le  Colonel  Franchessini — At  the  same  time,  I  am  so  far 
of  the  same  opinion  as  the  last  speaker  that  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  delinquent  has  fled  from  the  charge  brought  against 
him.  Neither  that  accusation,  nor  the  effect  it  may  have  on 
your  minds  or  on  others,  nor  even  the  annulling  of  his  elec- 
tion, has  any  interest  for  him  at  present.  Do  you  wish  to 
know  what  M.  de  Sallenauve  is  doing  in  England  ?  Then 
read  the  English  papers.  They  have  for  some  days  been  full 
of  the  praises  of  a  prima  donna  who  has  just  come  out  2X  Her 
Majesty's  theatre.     (Groans  and  interruptions.) 

A  Voice — Such  gossip  is  unworthy  of  this  Chamber. 

M.  le  Colonel  Franchessini — Gentlemen,  I  am  more  accus- 
tomed to  the  blunt  speech  of  camps  than  to  the  proprieties 
of  the  Chamber ;  I  am  perhaps  rash  in  thinking  aloud.  The 
honorable  gentleman  who  spoke  last  said  that  he  believed  that 


40  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

M.  de  Sallenauvc  had  gone  in  search  of  evidence  for  his  de- 
fense. I  say — not  I  believe,  but  I  know,  that  a  wealthy  for- 
eigner has  extended  his  protection  to  a  handsome  Italian  who 
was  formerly  honored  by  that  of  our  college  Phidias.  (Fresh 
interruptions.     "  Order,  order  ;  this  is  not  to  be  allowed  !  ") 

A  Voice — Monsieur  le  President,  will  you  not  silence  this 
speaker  ? 

Colonel  Franchessini,  folding  his  arms,  waited  till  silence 
should  be  restored. 

M.  le  President — I  must  request  the  speaker  to  adhere  to 
the  question. 

M.  le  Colonel  Franchessini — I  have  never  deviated  from  it; 
however,  as  the  Chamber  refuses  to  hear  me,  I  can  but  say 
that  I  vote  with  the  minority.  It  seems  to  me  a  very  natural 
course  to  send  Monsieur  de  Sallenauve  back  to  his  constitu- 
ency, and  so  ascertain  whether  they  meant  to  elect  a  deputy 
or  a  lover.  ("  Order,  order  !  "  A  great  commotion  ;  excite- 
ment at  the  highest  pitch.) 

M.  de  Canalis  hastily  tried  to  mount  the  tribune.  * 

M.  le  President — The  Minister  of  Public  Works  wishes  to 
speak,  and  as  one  of  the  King's  Ministry,  he  has  always  a 
right  to  be  heard. 

M.  de  Rastignac — It  is  no  fault  of  mine,  gentlemen,  that 
you  have  not  been  saved  from  this  scandal  in  the  Chamber. 
I  tried,  out  of  regard  for  my  old  friendship  with  Colonel  Fran- 
chessini, to  persuade  him  not  to  speak  on  so  delicate  a  matter, 
since  his  inexperience  of  parliamentary  rule,  aggravated  by 
his  ready  wit  and  fluency,  might  betray  him  into  some  regret- 
table extravagance.  It  was  to  this  effect  that  I  advised  him 
in  the  course  of  the  short  conversation  we  held  at  my  seat 
before  he  addressed  the  House ;  and  I  myself  asked  to  be 
heard  after  him  expressly  to  correct  any  idea  of  my  collusion 

*  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  speaking  member  of  the  French 
Chambers  does  not  address  his  audience  from  his  seat,  but  mounts  the 
provided  rostrum  after  being  recognized  by  the  president. — Pub. 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  41 

in  the  indiscretion  he  has  committed — in  my  opinion — by  de- 
scending to  the  confidential  details  with  which  he  has  thought 
proper  to  trouble  you.  However,  against  my  intention,  and 
so  to  say,  against  my  will,  I  have  mounted  the  tribune,  though 
no  ministerial  interest  detains  me  here,  may  I  be  allowed  to 
make  a  few  brief  remarks?  ("Speak,  speak!"  from  the 
Centre.) 

The  Minister  of  Public  Works  proceeded  to  show  that  the 
absent  deputy's  conduct  was  characterized  by  marked  con- 
tempt for  the  Chamber.  He  had  treated  it  with  cavalier  in- 
difference. He  had  indeed  asked  leave  of  absence;  but  how? 
By  writing  from  abroad.  That  is  to  say,  he  first  took  leave, 
and  then  asked  for  it.  Had  he,  as  was  customary,  assigned 
any  reason  for  the  request  ?  Not  at  all.  He  simply  an- 
nounced that  he  was  compelled  to  be  absent  on  urgent  private 
business,  a  trumpery  pretext  which  might  at  any  time  reduce 
the  assembly  by  half  its  members.  But  supposing  that  M.  de 
Sallenauve's  business  were  really  urgent,  and  that  it  were  of  a 
nature  which  he  thought  it  undesirable  to  explain  in  a  letter 
to  be  made  public;  why  could  he  not  have  laid  it  in  confi- 
dence before  the  President,  or  even  have  requested  one  of  his 
friends  of  such  standing  as  would  secure  credit  for  his  mere 
word,  to  answer  for  the  necessity  for  his  absence  without  any 
detailed  explanation. 

At  this  moment  the  Minister  was  interrupted  by  a  bustle  in 
the  passage  to  the  right ;  several  of  the  deputies  left  their 
places ;  others  standing  on  the  seats  and  craning  their  necks 
were  looking  at  something.  The  Minister,  after  turning  to 
the  President,  to  whom  he  seemed  to  appeal  for  an  explana- 
tion, went  down  from  the  tribune  and  returned  to  his  seat, 
when  he  was  immediately  surrounded  by  a  number  of  deputies 
from  the  Centre,  among  whom  M.  Vinet  was  conspicuous  by 
his  gesticulations.  Other  groups  formed  in  the  arena ;  in  fact, 
the  sitting  was  practically  suspended. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  President  rang  his  bell. 


42  THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

The  ushers — Take  your  seats,  gentlemen. 

The  members  hastily  returned  to  their  places. 

M.  le  President — M.  de  Sallenauve  will  now  speak. 

M.  de  Sallenauve,  who  had  been  talking  to  M.  d'Arthez  and 
M.  de  Canalis  since  his  arrival  had  suspended  business,  went 
up  to  the  tribune.  His  manner  was  modest,  but  quite  free 
from  embarrassment.  Everybody  was  struck  by  his  resem- 
blance to  one  of  the  most  fiery  of  the  revolutionary  orators. 

A  Voice — Danton  minus  the  smallpox. 

M.  de  Sallenauve  (deep  silence) — Gentlemen,  I  am  under 
no  illusion  as  to  my  personal  importance,  and  do  not  imagine 
that  I  myself  am  the  object  of  a  form  of  persecution,  which 
would  rather  seem  to  be  directed  against  the  opinions  I  have 
the  honor  to  represent.  However  that  may  be,  my  election 
seems  to  have  assumed  some  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Ministry.  To  contest  it,  a  special  agent  and  special  press 
writers  were  sent  to  Arcis ;  and  a  humble  servant  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, whose  salary,  after  twenty  years  of  honorable  service, 
had  reached  the  figure  of  fifteen  hundred  francs  a  year,  was 
suddenly  dismissed  from  his  post  for  being  guilty  of  contribu- 
ting to  my  success.  (Loud  murmurs  from  the  Centre.)  I 
can  only  thank  the  gentlemen  who  are  interrupting  me,  for 
I  suppose  their  noisy  disapprobation  is  meant  for  this  singular 
dismissal,  and  not  to  convey  a  doubt  of  the  fact,  which  is 
beyond  all  question.  (Laughter  from  the  Left.)  So  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  as  I  could  not  be  turned  out,  I  have  been 
attacked  with  another  weapon ;  judicial  calumny  combined 
with  my  opportune  absence 

The  Minister  of  Public  Works — It  was  the  Ministry  evi- 
dently that  procured  your  extradition  to  England? 

M.  de  Sallenauve — No,  Monsieur  le  Ministre,  I  do  not  ascribe 
my  absence  either  to  your  influence  or  to  your  suggestions  ;  it 
was  an  act  of  imperative  duty,  and  the  result  of  no  one's  bid- 
ding; but  as  regards  your  share  in  the  public  accusations  brought 
against  me,  I  shall  proceed  to  lay  the  facts  before  this  assembly. 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  43 

and  leave  the  matter  to  their  judgment.  (A  stir  of  interest.) 
The  law  which,  in  order  to  protect  the  independence  of  a 
member  of  this  Chamber,  lays  down  the  rule  that  a  criminal 
prosecution  cannot  be  instituted  against  any  member  without 
the  preliminary  authority  of  the  Chamber,  has  been  turned 
against  me,  I  must  say  with  consummate  skill.  The  indict- 
ment, if  presented  to  the  Attorney-General  in  Court,  would 
have  been  at  once  dismissed,  for  it  stands  alone  without  the 
support  of  any  kind  of  proof;  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  the 
Ministry  of  this  nation  is  not  in  the  habit  of  prosecuting  any- 
body on  the  strength  of  the  allegation  of  the  first  comer.  I 
cannot,  therefore,  but  admire  the  remarkable  acumen  which 
discerned  that,  by  appealing  to  this  Chamber,  the  charge 
would  have  all  the  advantages  of  a  political  attack,  though 
it  had  not  the  elements  of  the  simplest  criminal  case. 
(Murmurs.)  And  then,  gentlemen,  who  is  the  skillful  parlia- 
mentary campaigner  to  be  credited  with  this  masterly  device  ? 
As  you  know,  it  is  a  woman,  a  peasant,  claiming  only  the 
humble  rank  of  a  hand-worker;  whence  we  must  infer  that  the 
countrywomen  of  Champagne  can  boast  of  an  intellectual 
superiority  of  which  hitherto  you  can  surely  have  had  no  con- 
ception. (Laughter.)  It  must,  however,  be  added  that 
before  setting  out  for  Paris  to  state  her  grievance,  my  accuser 
would  seem  to  have  had  an  interview,  which  may  have  thrown 
some  light  on  her  mind,  with  the  Mayor  of  Arcis,  my  minis- 
terial opponent  for  election  ;  and  it  is  furthermore  to  be  sup- 
posed that  this  magistrate  had  some  interest  in  the  prosecution 
to  be  instituted,  since  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  pay  the 
traveling  expenses  both  of  the  plaintiff  and  of  the  village 
lawyer  who  accompanied  her.  ("Ha-ha!"  from  the  Left.) 
This  remarkably  clever  woman  having  come  to  Paris,  on  whom 
does  she  first  call?  Well,  on  that  very  gentleman  who  had 
been  sent  to  Arcis  by  the  Government  as  a  special  agent  to 
insure  the  success  of  the  ministerial  candidate.  And  who 
then  made  it  his  business  to  apply  for  authority  to  prosecute? 


42  THE   DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 

TTie  ushers — Take  your  seats,  gentlemen. 

The  members  hastily  returned  to  their  places. 

M.  le  President — M,  de  Sallenauve  will  now  speak. 

M.  de  Sallenauve,  who  had  been  talking  to  M.  d'Arthez  and 
M.  de  Canalis  since  his  arrival  had  suspended  business,  went 
up  to  the  tribune.  His  manner  was  modest,  but  quite  free 
from  embarrassment.  Everybody  was  struck  by  his  resem- 
blance to  one  of  the  most  fiery  of  the  revolutionary  orators. 

A  Voice — Danton  minus  the  smallpox. 

M.  de  Sallenauve  (deep  silence) — Gentlemen,  I  am  under 
no  illusion  as  to  my  personal  importance,  and  do  not  imagine 
that  I  myself  am  the  object  of  a  form  of  persecution,  which 
would  rather  seem  to  be  directed  against  the  opinions  I  have 
the  honor  to  represent.  However  that  may  be,  my  election 
seems  to  have  assumed  some  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Ministry.  To  contest  it,  a  special  agent  and  special  press 
writers  were  sent  to  Arcis ;  and  a  humble  servant  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, whose  salary,  after  twenty  years  of  honorable  service, 
had  reached  the  figure  of  fifteen  hundred  francs  a  year,  was 
suddenly  dismissed  from  his  post  for  being  guilty  of  contribu- 
ting to  my  success.  (Loud  murmurs  from  the  Centre.)  I 
can  only  thank  the  gentlemen  who  are  interrupting  me,  for 
I  suppose  their  noisy  disapprobation  is  meant  for  this  singular 
dismissal,  and  not  to  convey  a  doubt  of  the  fact,  which  is 
beyond  all  question.  (Laughter  from  the  Left.)  So  far  as  I 
am  concerned,  as  I  could  not  be  turned  out,  I  have  been 
attacked  with  another  weapon ;  judicial  calumny  combined 
with  my  opportune  absence 

The  Minister  of  Public  Works — It  was  the  Ministry  evi- 
dently that  procured  your  extradition  to  England? 

M.  de  Sallenauve — No,  Monsieur  le  Ministre,  I  do  not  ascribe 
my  absence  either  to  your  influence  or  to  your  suggestions  ;  it 
was  an  act  of  imperative  duty,  and  the  result  of  no  one's  bid- 
ding; but  as  regards  your  share  in  the  public  accusations  brought 
against  me,  I  shall  proceed  to  lay  the  facts  before  this  assembly. 


THE   DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS.  43 

and  leave  the  matter  to  their  judgment.  (A  stir  of  interest.) 
The  law  which,  in  order  to  protect  the  independence  of  a 
member  of  this  Chamber,  lays  down  the  rule  that  a  criminal 
prosecution  cannot  be  instituted  against  any  member  without 
the  preliminary  authority  of  the  Chamber,  has  been  turned 
against  me,  I  must  say  with  consummate  skill.  The  indict- 
ment, if  presented  to  the  Attorney-General  in  Court,  would 
have  been  at  once  dismissed,  for  it  stands  alone  without  the 
support  of  any  kind  of  proof;  and,  so  far  as  I  know,  the 
Ministry  of  this  nation  is  not  in  the  habit  of  prosecuting  any- 
body on  the  strength  of  the  allegation  of  the  first  comer.  I 
cannot,  therefore,  but  admire  the  remarkable  acumen  which 
discerned  that,  by  appealing  to  this  Chamber,  the  charge 
would  have  all  the  advantages  of  a  political  attack,  though 
it  had  not  the  elements  of  the  simplest  criminal  case. 
(Murmurs.)  And  then,  gentlemen,  who  is  the  skillful  parlia- 
mentary campaigner  to  be  credited  with  this  masterly  device  ? 
As  you  know,  it  is  a  woman,  a  peasant,  claiming  only  the 
humble  rank  of  a  hand-worker;  whence  we  must  infer  that  the 
countrywomen  of  Champagne  can  boast  of  an  intellectual 
superiority  of  which  hitherto  you  can  surely  have  had  no  con- 
ception. (Laughter.)  It  must,  however,  be  added  that 
before  setting  out  for  Paris  to  state  her  grievance,  my  accuser 
would  seem  to  have  had  an  interview,  which  may  have  thrown 
some  light  on  her  mind,  with  the  Mayor  of  Arcis,  my  minis- 
terial opponent  for  election  ;  and  it  is  furthermore  to  be  sup- 
posed that  this  magistrate  had  some  interest  in  the  prosecution 
to  be  instituted,  since  he  thought  it  his  duty  to  pay  the 
traveling  expenses  both  of  the  plaintiff  and  of  the  village 
lawyer  who  accompanied  her.  ("Ha-ha!"  from  the  Left.) 
This  remarkably  clever  woman  having  come  to  Paris,  on  whom 
does  she  first  call?  Well,  on  that  very  gentleman  who  had 
been  sent  to  Arcis  by  the  Government  as  a  special  agent  to 
insure  the  success  of  the  ministerial  candidate.  And  who 
then  made  it  his  business  to  apply  for  authority  to  prosecute? 


46  THE  DEPUTY  FOR  ARCIS. 

nauve,  I  regret  the  interruptions ;  be  so  good  as  to  go  on  with 
your  speech. 

M.  de  Sallenauve — To  resume  briefly :  The  application  for 
authority  to  prosecute,  of  which  you  have  heard,  has  now,  no 
doubt,  lost  much  of  its  importance  in  the  eyes  of  my  col- 
leagues, even  of  the  more  hostile.  I  have  here  a  letter  in 
which  the  peasant-woman,  my  relation,  withdraws  her  charge 
and  confirms  the  statements  I  have  had  the  honor  of  laying 
before  you.  I  might  read  the  letter,  but  I  think  it  better 
simply  to  place  it  in  the  President's  hands.  ("Quite  right, 
quite  right!")  As  regards  the  illegality  of  my  absence,  I 
returned  to  Paris  this  morning;  and  by  being  in  my  place  at 
the  opening  of  this  sitting,  I  could  have  been  in  my  seat  in 
Parliament  within  the  strict  limits  of  the  time  so  generously 
granted  me  by  this  Chamber.  But,  as  M.  de  Canalis  sug- 
gested to  you,  I  was  determined  not  to  appear  here  till  the 
cloud  that  hung  over  my  character  could  be  cleared  off.  This 
task  filled  up  the  morning.  Now,  gentlemen,  it  is  for  you  to 
decide  whether  one  of  your  colleagues  is  to  be  sent  back  to 
his  constituents,  for  a  few  hours'  delay  in  coming  to  claim  his 
seat  in  this  Chamber.  After  all,  whether  I  am  to  be  regarded 
as  a  forger,  a  desperate  lover,  or  merely  as  a  careless  repre- 
sentative, I  am  not  uneasy  as  to  what  their  verdict  will  be  j 
and  after  the  lapse  of  a  few  weeks,  the  probable  result,  as  I 
believe,  will  be  that  I  shall  come  back  again. 

On  all  sides  cries  of  "  Divide." 

On  descending  from  the  tribune,  M.  de  Sallenauve  was 
warmly  congratulated. 

The  President — I  put  it  to  the  vote :  Whether  or  not,  the 
election  of  M.  de  Sallenauve,  returned  as  Deputy  for  Arcis,  is 
or  is  not  valid  ? 

Almost  every  deputy  present  rose  to  vote  in  favor  of  the 
admission  of  the  new  member  ;  a  few  deputies  of  the  Centre 
abstained  from  voting  on  either  side. 

M.  de  Sallenauve  was  admitted  and  took  the  oaths. 


THE  DEPUTY  FOR   ARCIS. 


47 


M.  ie  President — The  order  of  the  day  includes  the  first 
reading  of  the  Address,  but  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
informs  me  that  the  draft  will  not  be  ready  to  be  laid  before 
this  Chamber  till  to-morrow.  Business  being  done,  I  pro- 
nounce the  sitting  closed. 

The  Chamber  rose  at  half-past  four. 


Note: — This   Scene  of   Political   Life  remained   unfinished   by   the 

Author. — PtJBLISHER. 


THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES. 

Translated  by  Jno.  Rodd,  B.A. 

To  Constance-  Victoire. 

Here,  madame,  is  one  of  those  works,  we  know  not 
whence,  which  falls  into  an  author' s  mind  and  affords 
him  pleasure  before  he  can  estimate  how  it  will  be 
welcomed  by  the  public,  the  stipre77ie  judge  of  our  gener- 
ation. Feeling  assured  of  your  co?npliance  at  my  in- 
fatuation, to  you  I  dedicate  this  book  :  is  it  not  right 
that  it  should  be  yours  as  in  other  days  tithes  belongea 
to  the  church,  iti  tnemory  of  God  who  makes  all  things 
grow,  all  ripen,  both  in  the  fields  a?id  in  our  intel- 
lects ? 

Some  lumps  of  clay,  left  by  Moliere  at  the  base  of 
the  colossal  statue  of  Tartuffe,  have  been  moulded  by  a 
hand  more  audacious  than  able  ;  but,  at  whatever  dis- 
tance I  may  be  ^neath  the  greatest  of  humorists,  I 
shall  be  satisfied  to  have  utilized  these  little  pieces 
from  before  the  curtain  of  his  stage  to  show  up  the 
modern  hypocrite  at  work.  The  reason  that  most  en- 
couraged me  in  this  difficult  undertaking  was  finding 
it  incompatible  with  any  religious  question,  since  for 
you,  so  pious,  I  must  necessarily  avoid  them,  in  spite 
of  what  a  great  writer  calls  the  general  indifference 
to  religious  matters. 

May  the  double  meaning  of  your  names  be  a 
prophecy  of  the  book !  Be  pleased  to  regard  this 
as  a  respectful  recognition  by  one  who  ventures  to  call 
himself  the  most  devoted  of  your  servants. 

De  Balzac. 
(48) 


FART  I. 

The  turnstile  Saint- Jean,  of  which  a  description  seemed  un- 
necessary at  the  tinae  of  the  commencement  of  the  study  en- 
titled "A  Second  Home;"  this  primitive  relic  of  old  Paris 
has  no  longer  an  existence  but  in  that  story.  The  erection  of 
the  Hotel  de  Ville,  as  it  stands  to-day,  has  cleared  out  the 
whole  quarter. 

In  1830  passers-by  could  still  see  the  turnstile  painted  on 
the  sign  of  a  wine-dealer,  but  that  house,  its  last  sanctuary, 
has  since  been  torn  down.  Alas  !  old  Paris  is  vanishing  with 
frightful  rapidity.  Here  and  there,  in  these  works,  there  will 
remain  some  typical  house  of  the  Middle  Ages,  like  that  de- 
scribed at  the  opening  of  the  "  Cat  and  Racket,"  one  or  two 
such  specimens  still  exist ;  for  instance,  the  house  occupied  by 
Judge  Popinot,  Rue  du  Fowarre,  is  an  example  of  old  bour- 
geoisie dwellings.  Here,  the  remains  of  the  Fulbert  house ; 
there,  the  old  basin  of  the  Seine  during  the  reign  of  Charles 
IX.  Why  does  not  the  historian  of  French  society,  like  a 
new  **  Old  Mortality,"  search  out  these  singular  records  of  the 
past  like  the  old  man  of  Walter  Scott's  restored  the  tomb- 
stones ?  Certainly,  for  nearly  ten  years,  the  protests  of  litera- 
ture were  not  superfluous ;  art  is  beginning  to  disguise  with  its 
flowers  the  hideous  fronts  of  the  trading  marts  in  Paris,  and 
which  one  of  our  writers  has  merrily  compared  to  commodes. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  creation  of  a  municipal  com- 
mission del  ornamento  which  supervises,  in  Milan,  the  archi- 
tecture of  the  street-fronts,  and  which  compels  every  proprietor 
to  submit  his  plans  thereto,  dates  from  the  twelfth  century. 
Now  who  can  have  failed  to  note  in  that  pretty  capital  the 
effects  of  patriotism  for  their  town  alike  in  the  middle-class 
and  the  nobles,  and  to  admire  to  the  full  the  character  and 
originality  of  the  buildings  ? 

4  (49) 


50  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

The  startling  and  hideous  speculations  which,  year  after 
year,  squeeze  a  suite  of  rooms  into  the  space  of  a  salon, 
waging  war  to  the  death  against  the  gardens,  must  inevitably 
influence  the  manners  of  Parisians.  Before  long  we  shall  be 
compelled  to  live  out  of  our  houses  more  than  in  them.  The 
sanctity  of  private  life,  the  liberty  of  the  home,  where  can  it 
be  found  ?  It  means  an  income  of  fifty  thousand  francs. 
Again,  few  millionaires  even  permit  themselves  the  luxury  of 
a  little  mansion,  protected  by  a  courtyard  from  the  street, 
and  sheltered  from  the  prying  eyes  of  the  public  by  the  leafy 
shade  of  a  garden. 

By  leveling  all  fortunes,  the  Code  which  regulates  the  suc- 
cessions, or  legacies,  has  produced  these  phalansteries  in  which 
to  lodge  thirty  families,  bringing  in  one  hundred  thousand 
francs  a  year.  Thus,  in  fifty  years  we  shall  be  able  to  count 
the  houses  resembling  that  occupied,  at  the  time  we  begin  this 
story,  by  the  Thuillier  family ;  really  a  curious  house  and  well 
deserving  of  a  detailed  description,  if  only  done  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparing  the  middle-class  lives  of  other  days  with 
those  of  our  own  time. 

The  situation  and  appearance  of  the  house,  the  frame  to 
this  picture  of  manners,  has  the  imprint,  the  aroma,  of  the 
lower  middle-class,  which  may  attract  or  repulse  the  attention 
according  to  each  one's  inclination. 

To  commence,  the  Maison  Thuillier  did  not  belong  to  either 
M.  or  Mme.,  but  to  Mademoiselle  Thuillier,  the  eldest  sister 
of  M.  Thuillier. 

This  house,  purchased  in  the  first  six  months  following  the 
revolution  of  1830  by  Mile.  Jeanne-Brigitte  Thuillier,  senior, 
is  situated  near  the  middle  of  the  Rue  Saint-Dominique- 
d'Enfer,  to  the  right  on  entering  by  the  Rue  d'Enfer.  Thus 
the  house  occupied  by  M.  Thuillier  has  a  southern  exposure. 

The  progressive  movement  of  the  Parisian  populace  toward 
the  higher  ground  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  Seine,  de- 
serting the  left  bank,  had  for  a  long  time  prevented  the  sale 


THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES.  51 

of  properties  in  the  Latin  quarter,  so-called,  who,  for  various 
reasons,  which  will  be  deduced  from  the  character  and  habits 
of  M,  Thuillier,  determined  his  sister  to  purchase  a  freehold ; 
this  one  she  was  able  to  buy  for  the  merely  nominal  price  of 
forty-six  thousand  francs ;  the  fixtures  and  so  forth  amounted 
to  six  thousand  additional,  or  fifty-two  thousand  francs  in  all. 
A  detailed  description  by  the  proprietor,  in  the  style  of  an 
advertisement,  and  the  changes  made  by  M.  Thuillier  will 
fully  show  the  way  in  which  some  fortunes  were  made  in  July, 
1830,  while  others  lost  their  all. 

On  the  street  the  front  was  of  stucco  masonry,  weather- 
beaten  and  rain-furrowed,  and  grooved  by  the  plasterer's  tool 
in  imitation  of  blocks  of  stone.  This  kind  of  house-front  is  so 
common  in  Paris,  and  so  ugly,  that  the  town  ought  to  give 
prizes  to  owners  who  are  willing  to  build  their  new  facades  of 
carved  stone.  This  drab  wall,  pierced  by  seven  windows,  was 
raised  three  stories,  and  terminated  in  a  mansard  roof  covered 
with  tiles.  The  carriage  gate,  wide  and  strong,  showed  in 
make  and  style  that  that  part  of  the  building  toward  the  street 
had  been  erected  during  the  Empire,  one  part  of  the  courtyard 
utilized  having  formerly  formed  part  of  a  very  large,  older  hab- 
itation, surviving  from  the  time  when  the  Enfer  quarter  enjoyed 
more  favor. 

On  one  side  was  found  the  janitor's  lodge ;  on  the  other  the 
stairs  went  up  the  front.  Two  wings,  adjoining  the  neighbor- 
ing houses,  had  formerly  served  as  the  stables,  coach-house, 
kitchens,  and  servants'  quarters;  but,  since  1830,  these  had 
been  converted  into  warehouses. 

The  right  side  was  rented  by  a  wholesale  stationer,  called 
M.  M^tivier  nephew;  the  left  side  by  a  bookseller  named 
Barbet.  The  offices  of  each  tradesman  were  over  the  ware- 
rooms,  the  bookseller  being  on  the  second  and  the  stationer 
on  the  third  floor  of  the  house  on  the  street.  Metivier  nephew, 
more  a  commission  agent  for  paper  than  a  merchant ;  Barbet, 
more  a  bill-broker  than  a  bookseller,  had  one  of  these  exten- 


62  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

sive  premises  in  use  for  storing  job  lots  of  paper  bought  from 
necessitous  manufacturers;  the  other  of  editions  of  works  given 
as  pledges  for  loans. 

This  shark  of  the  booksellers  and  this  pike  of  the  paper 
trade  lived  on  good  terms  with  each  other,  and  their  transac- 
tions, having  none  of  the  bustle  or  energies  of  retail  trade, 
brought  so  few  carriages  into  that  habitually  quiet  courtyard 
that  the  janitor  was  compelled  to  weed-out  the  grass  now  and 
again  from  between  the  paving-stones,  MM.  Barbet  and 
Metivier,  who  fill  but  a  minor  part  in  this  story,  made  but 
few  visits  to  their  landlord,  and  their  exactitude  in  paying 
their  rent  caused  them  to  be  classed  as  good  tenants ;  they 
were  regarded  as  very  honest  people  in  the  eyes  of  the  Thuil- 
lier  circle. 

On  the  third  floor  on  the  street  side  were  two  suites  of 
rooms,  one  occupied  by  M.  Dutocq,  clerk  to  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  an  old,  retired  government  employ^,  a  frequenter  of 
the  Thuilliers'  salon ;  the  other  by  the  hero  of  this  Scene. 
We  must  be  content  for  the  present,  though,  to  know  what 
rent  he  paid — seven  hundred  francs — and  the  position  he  had 
taken  in  the  heart  of  the  place,  three  years  previous  to  the 
curtain  rising  on  this  domestic  drama. 

The  clerk,  a  bachelor  of  fifty,  occupied,  out  of  the  two 
suites  of  the  three,  the  larger  one  ;  he  had  a  cook  and  paid  a 
rent  of  one  thousand  francs.  Two  years  after  her  acquisition, 
Mademoiselle  Thuillier  was  getting  seven  thousand  francs  in 
rent  for  one  house ;  the  former  owner  had  furnished  it  with 
outside  shutters,  had  restored  the  interior,  ornamenting  it  with 
mirrors,  without  succeeding  in  either  letting  or  selling  it ;  and 
the  Thuilliers,  very  handsomely  lodged,  as  will  be  seen,  had 
the  enjoyment  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful  gardens  in  the 
quarter,  whose  trees  shaded  the  deserted  little  street,  the  Rue 
Neuve-Sainte-Catherine. 

Situated  between  the  courtyard  and  the  garden,  that  part 
of  the  house  which  they  occupied  seemed  to  have  been  the 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  53 

caprice  of  some  wealthy  citizen,  in  the  days  of  Louis  XIV., 
or  that  of  a  president  of  the  Parlement,  or  some  quiet,  peace- 
loving  student.  This  lodge  had  five  windows  and  was  of  two 
stories  above  the  first  floor,  being  prettily  capped  with  a  four- 
gabled  roof,  ending  in  a  weathercock,  pierced  by  handsome, 
large  chimneys  and  oval  windows.  Perhaps  this  structure 
was  built  from  the  remains  of  some  great  mansion ;  but,  after 
studying  the  plans  of  old  Paris,  I  have  been  unable  to  find 
anything  to  substantiate  this  theory ;  and,  for  that  matter,  the 
title  deeds  of  Mile.  Thuillier  mention  as  proprietor,  under 
Louis  XIV.,  one  Petitot,  the  famous  painter  of  camels,  he 
having  it  from  President  Lecamus.  It  is  probable  that  the 
president  lived  here  during  the  erection  of  his  celebrated 
mansion  on  the  Rue  de  Thorigny. 

Thus  the  Robe  and  Art  had  alike  left  their  traces.  But, 
then,  what  a  liberal  idea  of  necessity  and  pleasure  had  ruled 
in  the  arrangements  of  the  interior  of  this  lodge !  To  the 
right,  on  entering  the  hall,  is  a  spacious  vestibule  whence 
ascends  a  stairway  of  stone,  with  two  windows  overlooking  the 
garden  ;  under  the  stairs  is  the  doorway  to  the  cellar.  From 
the  vestibule,  which  communicates  with  the  dining-room,  with 
windows  to  the  courtyard.  This  dining-room  has  a  side-door 
to  the  kitchens  adjoining  Barbet's  warehouse.  At  the  back 
of  the  stairs  on  the  garden  side  was  a  fine,  large  study,  with 
two  windows.  The  first  and  second  stories  each  formed  a 
separate  set  of  two  suites  of  rooms ;  and  the  servants'  quarters 
were  indicated,  under  the  four-gabled  roof,  by  the  oval  win- 
dows. A  handsome,  large  stove  ornamented  the  great  vesti- 
bule ;  its  two  glass  doors,  facing  each  other,  gave  ample  light. 
This  hall  was  paved  in  black  and  white  marble,  and  had  a 
decorated  coffered  ceiling,  the  joists  of  which  had  at  one  time 
been  painted  and  gilded,  but  had,  since  the  Empire,  un- 
doubtedly been  whitewashed.  Facing  the  stove  was  a  red 
marble  basin.  The  three  doors  of  the  study,  of  the  salon 
and  the  dining-room  were  surmounted  with  oval  panels  con- 


64  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

taining  pictures  which  cried  aloud  for  much-needed  restoration, 
though  the  decorations  were  not  without  merit. 

The  salon,  wainscoted  in  wood,  recalled  the  century  of 
magnificence  by  its  Languedoc  marble  mantel,  in  its  ceiling 
with  ornamented  corners,  and  by  the  shape  of  its  windows, 
in  which  were  preserved  the  little  diamond  panes.  The 
dining-room,  level  with  the  salon  and  having  double  doors 
between,  was  floored  with  marble;  the  ceiling  of  chestnut- 
wood  was  unpainted  ;  but  the  atrocious  modern  paper-hang- 
ings had  replaced  the  tapestry  of  the  olden  time.  The  study, 
modernized  by  Thuillier,  was  now  utterly  discordant. 

The  gold  and  white  panels  of  the  salon  were  so  faded  that 
nothing  but  red  lines  could  be  perceived  where  the  gold  had 
formerly  been,  and  the  white  was  yellow,  streaky,  and  falling 
off.  The  Latin  words,  Oiium  cum  dignitate,  had  never,  to  the 
eyes  of  a  poet,  had  so  excellent  a  commentary  as  in  this  noble 
dwelling.  The  iron-work  of  the  balustrade  to  the  stairs  was 
worthy  the  magistrate  and  the  artist ;  but,  to  discern  their 
traces  to-day  in  the  remains  of  a  dignified  antiquity,  the 
observing  eyes  of  the  artist  are  necessary. 

The  Thuilliers  and  their  predecessors  had  much  dishonored 
this  gem  of  the  higher  bourgeoisie  by  their  middle-class  habits 
and  lack  of  taste.  Can  you  imagine  walnut-wood  chairs  with 
horsehair  seats;  a  mahogany  table  with  an  oilcloth  cover; 
a  crumb-cloth  under  the  table ;  lamps  of  black  metal ;  a  cheap 
paper  with  a  red  border ;  execrable  black  and  white  engrav- 
ings on  the  walls ;  and  cotton  curtains  with  red  borders  in  this 
dining-room  in  which  Petitot  and  his  friends  had  feasted  ? 

Can  you  conceive  of  the  effect  of  this  in  the  salon  where 
the  portraits  of  M.  of  Mme.  of  Mile.  Thuillier,  by  Pierre 
Grassou,  the  painter  of  the  middle-classes;  of  card-tables 
that  had  done  twenty  years'  service ;  of  consoles  of  the 
time  of  the  Empire ;  a  tea-table  supported  on  a  huge  lyre ; 
a  coarse  mahogany  suite  upholstered  in  printed  velvet  on  a 
chocolate   ground ;    of   the   mantel,    with    its   clock  which 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  66 

represented  la  Bellone  of  the  Empire  ;  of  candelabra  with 
fluted  columns;  of  curtains  of  worsted  damask  and  of  em- 
broidered lawn,  looped  back  with  stamped  brass  chains  ?  A 
second-hand  carpet  covered  the  floor.  The  handsome  vesti- 
bule was  furnished  with  benches  covered  with  plush,  the 
carved  panels  being  hidden  behind  wardrobes  of  divers  dates, 
which  had  been  removed  from  the  various  apartments  formerly 
occupied  by  the  Thuilliers.  A  shelf  covered  the  marble 
basin  and  bore  a  smoky  lamp  dating  from  1815.  As  a  finish- 
ing touch,  fear,  that  hideous  bugbear,  had  provided  double 
doors  both  on  the  garden  and  the  courtyard  sides  of  the 
house,  strongly  sheathed  in  iron,  which  stood  back  against  the 
wall  by  day  and  at  night  were  securely  closed. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  explain  the  deplorable  desecration 
of  this  monument  of  private  life  of  the  seventeenth  century 
by  the  same  life  of  the  nineteenth  century.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Consulate,  perhaps,  some  master-builder, 
having  acquired  this  little  mansion,  conceived  the  idea  of 
making  some  use  of  the  ground  facing  the  street ;  he  had 
most  likely  pulled  down  a  beautiful  coach-way  gate  flanked  by 
little  lodges  which  added  importance  to  this  pretty  sejour,  to 
use  an  old  French  word,  and  the  shrewdness  of  a  Parisian 
builder  implanted  its  blight  on  the  front  of  this  elegance ;  as 
the  newspapers  and  their  printing-presses,  the  factories  and 
their  warerooms,  trade  and  its  counting-rooms,  have  ousted 
the  aristocracy,  the  old  bourgeoisie,  finance  and  the  law, 
wherever  they  once  displayed  their  splendor.  A  curious  study 
is  that  of  the  title-deeds  in  Paris  !  A  mad-house,  on  the  Rue 
des  Batailles,  occupies  the  site  where  once  stood  the  dwelling 
of  the  Chevalier  Pierre  Bayard  du  Terrail  ;  the  third  estate 
has  built  a  whole  street  where  once  stood  the  Hotel  Necker. 
Old  Paris  is  going — following  the  kings  who  are  gone.  For 
one  chef  {Toeuvre  of  architecture  saved  by  a  Polish  princess,* 

*  The  H6tel  Lambert,  He  Saint-Louis,  occupied  by  the  Princess  Czan 
toriska.     [Note  in  original  edition.] 


86  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

how  many  smaller  palaces  have  fallen,  like  Pctitot's  dwelling, 
into  the  hands  of  Thuilliers.  Here  are  the  reasons  which 
led  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  to  become  the  owner  of  this  house : 

At  the  fall  of  the  Villdle  ministry  M.  Louis-Jerdme  Thu- 
illier, who  had  then  been  for  twenty-six  years  a  clerk  in  the 
Bureau  of  Finance,  became  second  clerk  ;  but  he  had  barely 
had  his  fill  of  the  joys  of  authority  in  that  subaltern  position, 
once  the  smallest  of  his  hopes,  when  the  events  of  July, 
1830,  compelled  him  to  resign.  He  very  ingeniously  calcu- 
lated that  his  pension  would  be  honorably  and  munificently 
dealt  with  by  the  new  men,  who  would  be  only  too  well 
pleased  to  have  the  disposal  of  another  place  at  their  com- 
mand ;  and  this  was  well  reasoned,  for  it  was  at  once  granted 
at  seventeen  hundred  francs. 

When  the  prudent  sub-chief  first  spoke  of  retiring  from  the 
administration,  his  sister,  far  more  the  partner  of  his  life  than 
was  his  wife,  trembled  for  the  employe's  future. 

"What  would  become  of  Thuillier?"  was  the  question 
Madame  and  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  addressed  to  eacli  other 
with  equal  fears ;  they  were  then  living  in  a  small  flat  on  the 
third  floor.  Rue  d'Argenteuil. 

"  Getting  his  pension  into  proper  shape  will  occupy  him 
for  some  time,"  said  Mile.  Thuillier;  "but  I  think  I  will  so 
place  my  savings  as  to  keep  him  pretty  well  occupied.  Yes, 
by  giving  him  an  estate  to  manage  it  will  be  almost  equal  to 
his  being  in  the  service." 

"  Oh  !  my  dear  sister,  you  will  save  his  life  !  "  cried  Mme. 
Thuillier. 

*'  Well,  I  have  always  foreseen  this  crisis  in  Jerome's  life  !  " 
replied  the  old  maid,  with  an  air  of  patronage. 

Mile.  Thuillier  had  too  frequently  heard  her  brother  re- 
mark :  "  Such-a-one  is  dead ;  he  only  lasted  two  years  after 
he  retired  !  "  She  well  remembered  hearing  Colleville,  Thuil- 
lier's  intimate  friend,  employed  in  the  same  office,  jesting 
about  the  climacteric   of  bureaucracy,   and  saying:     "We 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  57 

shall  some  time  come  to  it  the  same  as  the  rest !  "  not  to 
realize  the  danger  threatening  her  brother.  The  transition 
from  activity  to  idleness  is,  in  fact,  the  critical  time  for  the 
employe.  Those  who  cannot  enter  upon  some  substituted 
occupation  for  the  one  they  have  left  change  remarkably : 
some  die ;  a  great  number  take  to  fishing,  a  distraction  very 
akin  to  their  former  labors  (sic)  in  the  office ;  some  others, 
malicious  men,  become  stock-brokers,  lose  their  savings  in  the 
concern,  and  are  glad  to  finish  by  taking  a  situation  in  the 
business,  after  the  first  bankruptcy  and  liquidation,  which  be- 
comes successful  in  the  hands  of  more  capable  ones  on  the 
lookout  for  just  such  chances  ;  then  the  ex-clerk  can  rub  his, 
now  empty,  hands  and  say :  "I  always  knew  there  was  a  great 
future  for  this  business. ' '  But  most  of  them  keep  up  a  constant 
struggle  against  their  old  habits. 

"Some  of  them,"  said  Colleville,  "are  devoured  by  a 
spleen  "*  (he  pronounced  it  "splane  ")  "  peculiar  to  govern- 
ment clerks;  they  die  of  suppressed  drcula(r)tton ;  afflicted 
with  red-tape  worm.  The  little  Poiret  could  not  see  a  blue- 
bordered  cardboard  box  without  his  face  changing  color ;  he 
turned  from  yellow  to  green." 

Mile.  Thuillier  was  looked  upon  as  the  good  genius  of  her 
brother's  household ;  that  she  had  plenty  of  force  and  de- 
cision her  personal  story  will  demonstrate.  This  relative 
superiority  enabled  her  to  gauge  her  brother,  though  she 
adored  him.  After  seeing  the  wreck  of  her  hopes  founded 
on  her  idol,  she  experienced  a  feeling  of  maternity  which 
caused  her  to  overestimate  the  social  qualities  of  the  sub- 
chief. 

Thuillier  and  his  sister  were  the  children  of  the  head  porter 
to  the  Minister  of  Finance.  Jerdme  had  escaped,  thanks  to 
his  being  short-sighted,  from  every  possible  form  of  requisi- 
tion and  conscription.  His  father's  ambition  was  to  make 
him  an  employ^.  At  the  opening  of  this  century  there  were 
*£lue  devils. 


58  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

SO  many  places  to  fill  in  the  army  that  it  caused  many  vacan- 
cies in  the  offices,  thus  the  removal  of  inferior  clerks  gave  the 
burly  old  Thuillier  a  chance  so  see  his  son  take  his  first  de- 
crees in  the  hierarchy  of  bureaucracy. 

The  porter  died  in  1814,  at  the  time  when  Jerome  was  to 
succeed  the  old  sub-chief,  but  all  the  fortune  he  was  able  to 
leave  him  was  this  hope.  Old  Thuillier  and  his  wife,  who 
died  in  1810,  had  retired  in  1806,  with  a  retiring  pension 
their  sole  fortune,  having  expended  their  earnings  in  giving 
Jerome  his  education  and  in  supporting  him  and  his  sister. 

We  know  the  effect  of  the  Restoration  on  the  bureaux. 
The  suppression  of  forty-one  departments  caused  the  dismissal 
of  a  horde  of  clerks,  honest  men  quite  prepared  to  accept 
offices  inferior  in  grade  to  those  formerly  occupied  by  them. 
The  rights  of  these  men  were  further  impinged  upon  by  the 
pretensions  of  exiled  families  ruined  by  the  Revolution. 
Squeezed  between  these  two  sources,  Jer6me  thought  himself 
more  than  lucky  not  to  be  dismissed  on  some  frivolous  pre- 
text. Till  the  day  when  by  chance  he  became  second-clerk 
he  had  quaked  about  his  retiring  pension. 

This  short  review  explains  the  limited  conceptions  and  lack 
of  general  knowledge  of  M.  Thuillier.  He  had  acquired 
Latin,  mathematics,  history,  and  geography,  as  boys  are 
taught  at  school ;  but  he  had  not  risen  higher  than  is  known 
as  the  second  class,  his  father  having  profited  by  the  chance 
of  getting  him  into  office,  boasting  of  his  son's  ''splendid 
hand."  So,  though  little  Thuillier  wrote  the  first  inscrip- 
tions in  the  ledger,  he  was  not  up  in  rhetoric  or  philosophy. 

A  cogwheel  in  the  ministerial  machine,  he  but  little  culti- 
vated letters  and  still  less  troubled  art ;  he  acquired  a  super- 
ficial knowledge  of  his  own  line ;  and  when,  on  the  occasion 
of  his  rise,  under  the  Empire,  he  mixed  with  the  higher  class 
of  employes,  he  caught  the  superficial  manner  which  concealed 
the  porter's  son,  but  he  utterly  failed  to  catch  a  ready  wit. 
His  ignorance  caused  his  silence,  and  his  silence  well  served 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  59 

him.  He  was  accustomed  to  render,  under  the  Imperial 
regime,  that  passive  obedience  which  is  so  appreciated  by 
superiors ;  and  it  was  to  this  quality  that  he  afterward  owed 
his  promotion  to  the  grade  of  sub-chief.  This  routine  life 
gave  him  a  great  experience ;  his  silent  manner  covered  his 
lack  of  education. 

Mile.  Thuillier,  knowing  how  her  brother  abhorred  reading 
and  his  inability  to  replace  the  tasks  of  the  office  by  any 
business,  had  wisely  resolved  to  give  him  the  care  of  her 
property,  the  culture  of  the  garden,  the  little  trivialities  of 
middle-class  life  found  in  the  intrigues  of  the  neighborhood. 

The  transplanting  of  the  Thuillier  household  from  the  Rue 
d'Argenteuil  to  the  Rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,  the  atten- 
tion necessary  to  the  purchase,  the  selection  of  a  janitor,  the 
search  for  good  tenants,  kept  Thuillier  fully  occupied  through 
1831  and  1832.  When  this  phenomenal  transplantation  was 
effected,  when  the  sister  saw  that  Jerome  had  survived  his  up- 
rooting, she  found  him  still  other  employment,  as  we  shall 
learn,  for  she  recognized  a  similar  disposition  to  her  own  in 
Thuillier,  which  it  may  not  be  useless  to  here  describe. 

Although  only  the  son  of  a  minister's  porter,  Thuillier  was 
what  is  known  as  a  fine  man ;  above  the  medium  height, 
slight,  of  agreeable  physiognomy  when  he  wore  his  spectacles, 
but  ugly,  like  most  persons  afflicted  with  myopia,  when  he 
doffed  them ;  for  the  habit  of  looking  through  glasses  had 
cast  a  species  of  mist  over  his  eyeballs. 

Between  the  age  of  eighteen  and  thirty,  young  Thuillier 
was  a  favorite  with  women  in  that  social  sphere  that  exists  in 
the  lower  middle-class  and  ends  below  the  chiefs  of  the  de- 
partments ;  but,  as  all  are  aware,  under  the  Empire  the  wars 
left  Parisian  society  somewhat  bereft  by  absorbing  every  man 
of  energy  into  the  fields  of  battle ;  and  perhaps,  as  suggested 
by  a  celebrated  physician,  this  is  the  cause  of  the  decadence 
of  the  generation  that  lived  during  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

Q 


60  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Thuillier,  compelled  to  shine  by  accomplishments  other 
than  intellectual,  learned  to  waltz  and  dance  so  well  as  to  be- 
come noted  for  it  in  the  city;  he  was  called  "Handsome 
Thuillier;"  he  was  an  expert  billiard  player;  he  was  clever 
at  cutting  out  figures ;  his  friend  CoUeville  had  so  well  in- 
structed him  that  he  could  troll  out  some  fancy  ballads  in 
great  style.  All  this  resulted  in  gaining  him  that  spurious 
success  which  deceives  the  young  and  deludes  them  as  to  the 
future.  From  1806  to  1814  Mile.  Thuillier  believed  in  her 
brother  as  Mile.  d'Orleans  believed  in  Louis-Philippe ;  she 
was  proud  of  Jerome,  she  saw  him  arrive  at  the  highest  post 
in  the  office ;  thanks  to  the  popularity  which  at  that  time  gave 
him  the  entrance  to  some  salons  where  he  most  decidedly 
would  not  have  been  seen  only  for  the  circumstances  which, 
under  the  Empire,  made  society  a  perfect  medley. 

He  acquired  a  habit  of  looking  at  himself  in  the  glass, 
posing  with  his  hands  on  his  hips  to  set  off  his  figure,  and 
assuming  the  deportment  of  a  dancing-master,  all  of  which 
helped  to  prolong  the  lease  of  his  nickname  "Handsome 
Thuillier." 

But  the  truth  in  1806  became  mockery  in  1826.  He  still 
retained  some  vestiges  of  the  dandy's  dress  of  the  Empire, 
nor  were  they  unbecoming  to  the  dignity  of  an  old  second- 
clerk.  He  still  wore  the  white  cravat  with  numerous  pleats 
in  which  his  chin  was  buried,  the  two  ends  of  which  menaced 
passers-by  as  they  projected  to  the  right  and  left  of  a  neatly 
tied  knot,  in  former  days  fastened  by  the  hands  of  dainty 
beauties.  He  followed  the  fashions  at  a  respectful  distance, 
but  he  adapted  them  to  his  own  style ;  he  wore  his  hat  far 
back ;  low  shoes  in  summer  with  fine  stockings ;  his  overcoat 
was  reminiscent  of  the  levites  of  the  Empire ;  he  would  not 
abandon  his  pleated  shirt-frills  and  white  vests ;  he  was  all 
the  time  making  play  with  his  thin  cane,  the  style  of  1810, 
and  held  himself  upright.  None  who  saw  Thuillier  prome- 
nading the  boulevards  would  have  taken  him  for  the  son  of  a 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  61 

man  who  served  the  employes'  breakfasts  in  the  Bureau  of 
Finance,  and  who  wore  the  livery  of  Louis  XVI.;  he  more 
resembled  an  imperial  diplomat  or  a  sub-prefect. 

Another  household  transplanted  into  the  same  neighborhood 
was  that  of  which  M.  CoUeville,  Thuillier's  most  intimate 
friend,  was  the  head.  But  before  painting  Pylades  it  is  first 
indispensable  to  have  done  with  Orestes,  as  it  is  necessary  to 
explain  why  Thuillier,  Handsome  Thuillier,  found  himself 
without  a  family,  for  a  family  cannot  be  without  children  ; 
and  here  must  be  revealed  one  of  those  deep  mysteries  which 
lie  entombed  in  the  arcana  of  private  life,  and  whose  symp- 
toms arise  at  times  to  the  surface  when  the  anguish  of  a  hidden 
sorrow  becomes  too  great  to  be  silently  borne,  as  instance 
that  of  Mme.  and  Mile.  Thuillier,  for,  up  to  the  present,  we 
have  only  seen,  so  to  speak,  the  public  life  of  Jerome  Thuillier. 

Marie-Jeanne-Brigitte  Thuillier,  four  years  older  than  her 
brother,  had  been  immolated  on  her  brother's  altar ;  it  was 
easier  to  give  him  a  profession  than  to  give  the  other  a  mar- 
riage-portion. Ill-fortune,  to  certain  natures,  is  a  lighthouse 
illuminating  the  dark  and  squalid  in  social  life.  Superior  to 
her  brother,  alike  in  energy  and  commonsense,  Brigitte  pos- 
sessed a  nature  which  the  sledge-hammer  of  persecution  had 
made  dense,  compact,  and  of  great  resistance,  not  to  mention 
inflexible.  Jealous  of  her  independence,  she  made  up  her 
mind,  by  some  means,  to  leave  behind  her  the  life  at  the 
porter's  lodge  and  become  the  sole  arbiter  of  her  fate. 

At  fourteen  years  of  age  she  took  up  her  abode  in  a  garret, 
some  few  steps  from  the  Treasury,  then  in  the  Rue  Vivienne, 
not  far  from  the  Rue  de  la  Vrilli^re,  where  to-day  the  Bank 
stands.  She  bravely  started  out  in  an  unfamiliar  business, 
privileged,  thanks  to  her  father's  patrons;  and  which  con- 
sisted of  manufacturing  cash-bags  for  the  Bank,  the  Treasury, 
and  other  great  banking  houses.  She  had,  at  the  end  of  three 
years,  two  workwomen  employed.  Placing  her  savings  in  the 
Funds,  by  1814  she  owned  an  income  of  three  thousand  six 


S2  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

hundred  francs  a  year,  which  had  been  made  in  fifteen  years. 
She  spent  but  little,  dining  every  day  with  her  father  as  long 
as  he  lived;  now,  as  all  know,  the  Funds  during  the  last  con 
vulsions  of  the  Empire  went  down  to  forty-odd  francs — so  this 
result,  apparently  exaggerated,  is  easily  explained. 

On  the  death  of  the  old  porter,  Brigitte  and  Jerome,  one 
aged  twenty-seven,  the  other  twenty-three,  united  their  desti- 
nies. The  brother  and  sister  had  the  fullest  affection  for  each 
other.  So  when  Jerome,  then  in  the  time  of  his  success,  needed 
any  money,  his  sister,  dressed  in  coarse  woolen  cloth,  her 
fingers  showing  the  wear  of  the  thread  with  which  she  sewed, 
always  had  a  few  louis  to  offer  him.  In  Brigitte's  eyes  Jerome 
was  the  most  handsome  man  and  more  charming  than  any 
other  in  the  whole  French  Empire. 

To  keep  house  for  this  adored  brother,  to  be  initiated  into 
the  secrets  of  Lindoro  and  Don  Juan,  to  be  his  servant,  his 
faithful  spaniel,  was  Brigitte's  ideal  dream ;  she  immolated 
herself  with  ardor  to  an  idol  whose  egoism  she  could  aggran- 
dize by  her  sacrifice.  She  sold  her  business  to  her  forelady 
for  fifteen  thousand  francs,  then  went  and  established  herself 
in  the  Rue  d'Argenteuil  with  Thuillier,  making  herself  the 
mother,  protector,  slave,  of  that  "darling  of  the  ladies." 

Brigitte,  with  the  natural  prudence  of  a  maid  who  owed  her 
all  to  her  own  discretion  and  toil,  hid  the  extent  of  her  for- 
tune from  her  brother ;  she  no  doubt  was  afraid  of  the  prodi- 
galities of  such  a  man  of  the  world,  bringing  to  the  common 
stock  but  six  hundred  francs;  this,  though,  with  the  eighteen 
hundred  of  Jerome's,  enabled  her  to  make  both  ends  meet 
each  year. 

From  the  first  day  of  their  partnership,  Thuillier  listened  to 
his  sister  as  to  an  oracle;  he  consulted  her  in  the  smallest 
affairs,  concealed  no  secrets  from  her,  and  thus  gave  her  a 
taste  of  the  fruits  of  domination  which  became  the  besetting 
sin  of  her  nature.  But,  really,  the  sister  had  been  altogether 
sacrificed  to  her  brother,  she  had  staked  her  all  on  his  heart, 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  68 

she  lived  but  in  him.  Brigitte's  ascendency  over  Jerome  was 
singularly  confirmed  by  the  marriage  she  procured  for  him 
about  1 814. 

Seeing  the  violent  nip  of  the  new-comers,  which  came  with 
the  Restoration,  in  all  the  government  offices,  particularly  by 
the  return  of  the  old  society  which  trampled  under  foot  the 
middle-classes,  Brigitte  understood,  and  indeed  her  brother 
explained  to  her,  the  social  crisis  that  bade  fair  to  extinguish 
all  their  hopes.  Further  success  was  out  of  the  question  for 
Handsome  Thuillier  among  the  nobility  who  had  succeeded  in 
routing  the  plebeians  of  the  Empire. 

Under  these  conditions  a  woman,  as  zealous  as  Brigitte 
was,  wished  and  determined  to  have  her  brother  marry,  quite 
as  much  for  her  own  sake  as  for  his,  for  only  she  herself  could 
achieve  his  happiness,  Madame  Thuillier  being  merely  the  in- 
dispensable accessory  for  the  production  of  one  or  two  chil- 
dren. Though  Brigitte's  intellect  did  not  compare  with  her 
will,  for  all  that  she  had  the  instinct  of  despotism ;  for  though 
she  had  received  no  education,  she  went  straight  ahead  with 
the  persistency  of  a  nature  accustomed  to  succeed.  She  had 
a  natural  genius  for  household  management,  the  sense  of  thrift, 
and  a  love  of  work.  She  divined  that  she  would  never  be 
successful  in  marrying  J6r6me  in  a  higher  sphere  than  their 
own,  where  the  family  would  make  inquiry  as  to  their  style 
of  life,  possibly  to  be  alarmed  at  finding  a  mistress  already 
established  in  the  dwelling;  she  searched,  therefore,  in  a 
grade  below  their  own  for  the  people  she  might  dazzle,  and 
she  came  across  the  very  party. 

The  senior  messenger  of  the  Bank,  named  Lemprun,  had 
an  only  daughter  called  Celeste.  Mile.  Celeste  Lemprun 
would  inherit  her  mother's  fortune,  the  only  daughter  of  a 
truck-farmer.  This  property  consisted  of  some  acres  of  land 
in  the  environs  of  Paris  which  the  old  man  still  worked ;  then 
the  fortune  of  old  Lemprun,  a  man  who,  after  being  employed 
in  the  banks  of  Th^lusson  and  Keller,  had  entered  the  service 


64  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

of  the  Bank  at  its  foundation,  would  also  be  hers.  Lempnin, 
then  the  head  messenger,  enjoyed  the  respect  and  esteem  of 
the  government  and  the  inspectors. 

The  Board  of  Directors,  hearing  that  the  marriage  of  Celeste, 
to  an  honorable  employe  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance,  was 
arranged,  promised  a  present  of  six  thousand  francs  ;  this  gift 
added  to  the  twelve  thousand  francs  given  by  old  Lemprun, 
and  twelve  thousand  francs  given  by  Sieur  Galard,  the  truck- 
farmer  at  Auteuil,  made  a  dot  of  thirty  thousand  francs.  Old 
Galard  and  M.  and  Mme.  Lemprun  were  enchanted  with  this 
alliance  ;  the  chief  messenger  knew  Brigitte  for  one  of  the 
most  worthy  and  respectable  young  women  in  Paris.  Brigitte 
gave  lustre  by  her  descriptions  of  investments  in  the  Funds 
and  informing  the  Lempruns  that  she  would  never  marry,  and 
neither  the  chief  messenger  nor  his  wife,  people  of  the  Golden 
Age,  allowed  themselves  to  criticise  Brigitte.  They  were 
especially  struck  by  the  high  position  of  Handsome  Thuillier, 
and  the  marriage  had  been  settled,  to  use  the  accustomed 
formula,  to  the  general  satisfaction  of  all. 

The  governor  and  secretary  of  the  Bank  acted  as  witnesses 
for  the  bride,  the  same  as  M.  de  la  Billardiere,  chief  of  his 
department,  and  M.  Rabourdin,  chief  of  the  bureau,  did  for 
Thuillier. 

Six  years  after  this  marriage  old  Lemprun  was  the  victim  of 
a  most  audacious  robbery,  spoken  of  in  the  journals  of  that 
time,  but  quite  forgotten  in  the  events  of  1815.  The  thieves 
had  completely  eluded  every  search.  Lemprun  wished  to  pay 
for  the  loss,  and,  although  the  Bank  charged  the  amount  to 
profit  and  loss,  the  poor  old  man  died  of  vexation  caused  by 
the  disaster.  He  regarded  it  as  a  blow  at  his  probity  of 
seventy  years'  standing. 

Mme.  Lemprun  abandoned  all  her  inheritance  to  her 
daughter,  Mme.  Thuillier,  going  to  live  with  her  father  at 
Auteuil,  where  the  old  man  died  of  an  accident  in  181 7.  Afraid 
of  either  managing  or  letting  her  father's  fields,  Mme.  Lem- 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  66 

prun  begged  Brigitte,  at  whose  capabilities  and  honesty  she  was 
astonished,  to  realize  the  estate  of  old  Galard  and  so  arrange 
things  that  her  daughter  should  take  everything,  allowing  her 
fifteen  hundred  francs  a  year  and  leaving  her  the  house  at 
Auteuil.  The  fields  of  the  old  truck-farmer,  sold  in  lots,  brought 
thirty  thousand  francs,  and  the  two  fortunes,  added  to  the 
dot,  amounted  in  1818  to  ninety  thousand  francs. 

At  the  beginning  of  that  year,  with  the  results  of  opera- 
tions on  'Change,  Thuillier's  salary  and  the  dividend  on  Bank 
shares,  the  annual  sum  passing  through  Brigitte's  uncontrolled 
hands,  amounted  to  eleven  thousand  francs.  It  is  necessary 
to  have  this  financial  question  understood,  not  only  to  dis- 
sipate objections,  but  to  leave  a  clear  course  for  the  drama. 

From  the  very  first  Brigitte  broke  in  the  unfortunate  Mme. 
Thuillier  by  a  free  use  of  the  spurs  and  making  her  feel  the 
curb.  This  luxury  of  tyranny  was  quite  useless;  the  victim 
promptly  yielded.  Celeste  had  been  reckoned  up  by  Brigitte, 
who  found  her  devoid  of  pluck  and  education,  accustomed  to  a 
sedentary  life,  a  tranquil  atmosphere,  and  of  excessively  mild 
nature ;  she  was  pious  as  the  word ;  she  had  expiated  by 
hardest  penace  each  involuntary  fault  that  could  cause  pain  to 
another.  She  was  quite  ignorant  of  life ;  accustomed  to  be 
waited  upon  by  her  mother,  who  did  her  own  housework ; 
compelled  to  keep  in  a  state  of  rest  by  a  lymphatic  constitu- 
tion, becoming  fatigued  at  the  least  exertion.  She  was  just  a 
daughter  of  the  people  of  Paris,  where  the  children,  rarely 
pretty,  are  the  production  of  poverty,  overwork,  of  airless 
homes,  without  freedom  of  action,  and  the  lack  of  every  con- 
venience of  life. 

At  the  time  of  her  wedding  Celeste  was  a  little  woman,  a 
faded  blonde,  nauseatingly  so ;  fat,  slow,  and  of  most  stupid 
appearance.  Her  too-large  forehead,  prominent,  and  suggest- 
ing water  on  the  brain  ;  and  under  that  dome  of  a  waxy  hue 
a  face  evidently  too  small  and  ending  in  a  point  like  the  snout 
of  a  mouse,  gave  fear  to  arise  that  at  some  time  she  would 
5 


66  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

lose  her  mind.  Her  pale  blue  eyes  and  lips,  set  in  a  petrified 
smile,  did  not  disabuse  one  of  this  idea.  She  had,  on  the 
solemn  day  of  her  wedding,  the  attitude,  air,  and  manner  of 
one  condemned  to  death,  and  who  hopes  it  will  soon  be  over. 

"  She's  a  bit  soft  !  "  said  Colleville  to  Thuillier. 

Brigitte  was  the  good  knife  that  should  stab  this  nature, 
which  presented  so  violent  a  contrast  to  her  own.  She 
possessed  a  sort  of  beauty  in  her  correct,  regular  features,  but 
it  had  been  massacred  by  toil  which,  from  infancy,  had  bound 
her  hard  down  to  uncongenial,  rough  work,  and  by  the  secret 
privations  she  had  voluntarily  undergone  to  increase  her  com- 
petency. Her  dappled  skin  had  the  hue  of  steel.  Her  brown 
eyes  were  surrounded  with  black,  or,  rather,  bruised  circles ; 
her  upper  lip  was  ornamented  with  dark  down,  looking  some- 
what as  it  had  been  smoked  ;  she  had  thin  lips,  and  her  im- 
perious forehead  had  once  been  crowned  with  hair  that  was 
black,  but  which  was  now  changing  to  chinchilla.  She  was 
as  erect  as  any  handsome  woman,  and  everything  about  her 
betrayed  a  life  of  toil,  suppressed  fires,  and,  as  is  said  of  the 
huzzars,  "at  the  cost  of  her  achievements." 

To  Brigitte  Celeste  was  but  a  fortune  to  pick  up,  a  mother 
to  mate,  one  subject  more  in  her  empire.  She  very  soon  re- 
proached her  for  being  "  flabby  " — a  constant  word  of  hers — 
and  this  jealous  old  maid,  who  would  have  despaired  if  she 
had  found  a  managing  sister-in-law,  took  a  savage  delight  in 
stinging  this  feeble  creature  into  activity.  Celeste,  ashamed 
of  seeing  her  sister-in-law  displaying  such  vim  and  energy  in 
her  household  duties,  made  an  effort  to  assist  her ;  she  fell  ill ; 
at  once  Brigitte  gave  her  whole  care  to  Mme.  Thuillier,  she 
nursed  her  like  a  sister,  saying  before  Jerdme ; 

"You  are  not  strong  enough;  eh,  well,  do  nothing,  my 
pet!  "  she  made  the  most  of  the  incapacity  of  Celeste  with 
that  display  of  pity  by  which  the  strong,  pretending  much 
compassion  for  the  weak,  manage  to  chant  their  own  eulogy. 

When  Mme.  Thuillier's  health  was  reestablished,  Brigitte 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  67 

would  say,  in  such  manner  that  none  could  help  hearing : 
"Dish-rag,  good-for-nothing,"  and  the  like.  Celeste  would 
weep  in  her  own  room,  and,  when  Thuillier  surprised  her  in 
tears,  he  excused  his  sister,  saying  : 

"She's  all  right,  but  she's  hot-tempered;  she  loves  you  in 
her  way  ;  she  is  just  the  same  with  me." 

Celeste,  remembering  the  maternal  care  she  had  received, 
pardoned  her  sister-in-law.  Brigitte  looked  upon  her  brother 
as  king  of  the  house  ;  she  lauded  him  to  Celeste  and  treated 
him  as  an  autocrat,  a  Ladislas,  an  infallible  pope.  Mme. 
Thuillier,  bereft  of  her  father  and  grandfather,  and  all  but 
abandoned  by  her  mother,  who  came  on  Thursdays  to  see 
her,  while  they  visited  her  on  Sundays  in  the  summer,  had  no 
one  but  her  husband  to  love ;  first,  because  he  was  her  hus- 
band, and  also  because  he  remained  to  her  Handsome  Thuil- 
lier, And  sometimes  he  really  treated  her  as  though  she  were 
his  wife  ;  all  these  reasons  combined  caused  her  to  worship 
him.  Now  Thuillier  dined  at  home,  but  went  to  bed  very 
late ;  he  went  to  balls  in  his  own  circle  alone  and  precisely  the 
same  as  though  he  was  a  bachelor.  Thus  the  two  women  were 
always  together. 

Celeste  assumed  a  passive  attitude,  and,  agreeable  to  Bri- 
gitte's  desire,  became  a  regular  slave.  The  Queen  Elizabeth 
of  the  household  passed  from  despotism  to  a  sort  of  pity  for  this 
perpetually  sacrificed  victim.  Finally  she  laid  aside  her  higli 
and  mighty  airs,  her  stinging  words,  her  tone  of  contempt, 
when  she  was  assured  that  she  had  broken  her  sister  into  pas- 
sive slavery. 

The  poor  creature  might  have  become  something  in  the 
household  that  lived  upon  her  money — though  she  was  un- 
aware of  the  fact — all  of  which  she  obtained  being  the  crumbs 
that  fell  from  the  table ;  she  had  one  chance  by  which  her 
spirit  might  have  been  roused  to  defend  herself,  to  be  some- 
thing, but,  alas  !  that  chance  did  not  materialize. 

Six  years  had  gone,  but  Celeste  had  not  borne  a  child. 


«8  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

This  infecundity,  which,  month  after  month,  caused  her  tor- 
rents of  tears,  for  a  long  time  did  but  add  fuel  to  Brigitte's 
flame ;  she  reproached  her  lor  being  no  good  at  all,  not  even 
to  bear  children.  This  old  maid,  who  had  promised  herself 
the  pleasure  of  loving  her  brother's  child,  was  slow  in  be- 
coming used  to  the  idea  that  this  sterility  was  irremediable. 

At  the  time  when  this  story  commences,  in  1840,  at  the 
age  of  forty-six.  Celeste  had  stopped  crying,  for  she  was 
mournfully  certain  that  the  power  of  becoming  a  mother  had 
departed.  Time,  ample  means,  the  incessant  little  frictions 
of  daily  life,  had  rubbed  off  the  corners,  and  that,  together 
with  Celeste's  lamblike  resignation  and  sweetness,  led  to  a 
serene,  mild  fall.  Brigitte  became  as  fond  of  Celeste  as  she 
was  of  her.  And  the  two  women  were  further  united  by  the 
sole  sentiment  they  had  ever  known — their  adoration  for  the 
happy  and  selfish  Thuillier. 

This  spurious  motherhood,  quite  as  absorbing  as  the  real, 
needs  an  explanation  which  brings  us  to  the  heart  of  the 
drama  and  is  the  reason  why  Mile.  Thuillier  found  plenty  of 
occupation  for  her  brother. 

Thuillier  had  entered  as  a  supernumerary  in  the  bureau  at 
the  same  time  as  Colleville,  who  has  already  been  spoken  of 
as  his  intimate  friend.  Compared  to  the  dull  and  rigid 
household  of  Thuillier's,  social  nature  had  formed  Colleville's 
as  a  perfect  contrast,  and  though  it  was  impossible  that  this 
peculiar  contrast  is  far  from  moral,  it  needs  to  be  added  that 
before  jumping  to  a  conclusion  of  the  drama,  unfortunately 
only  too  true,  it  were  as  well  to  read  the  story  to  the  end, 
otherwise  the  author  cannot  be  held  responsible. 

This  Colleville  was  the  only  son  of  a  talented  musician, 
formerly  the  first  violin  at  the  opera  during  Francoeur's  and 
Rebel's  time.  Colleville  and  Thuillier  were  inseparable 
friends,  having  no  secrets  from  each  other ;  their  friendship, 
commenced  when  they  were  but  fifteen,  remained  cloudless  in 
the  year  1839. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  69 

Colleville,  beside  being  an  employe,  was  what  was  known 
as  a  "Cumulator"  in  the  bureau;  he  was  first  clarionet  at 
the  Opera-Comique — thanks  to  his  father's  name — now,  when 
a  bachelor,  he  was  better  off  than  Thuillier,  and  often  shared 
with  his  friend.  But,  contrary  to  Thuillier,  Colleville  married 
to  please  himself  Mile.  Flavie,  natural  daughter  of  a  cele- 
brated dancer  who  pretended  that  she  was  a  de  Bourguier, 
one  of  the  richest  contractors  of  his  day,  but  who  had  been 
ruined  in  1800,  and  who  more  completely  forgot  his  child, 
as  he  cherished  doubts  as  to  the  faithfulness  of  this  famous 
comedienne. 

By  her  appearance  and  birth  Flavie  was  destined  to  a 
grievous  fate  at  the  time  when  Colleville,  who  had  frequent 
occasion  to  visit  her  mother,  who  had  lived  luxuriously,  fell 
in  love  with  Flavie  and  married  her.  Prince  Galathionne, 
her  protector,  in  September,  1815,  when  the  illustrious  dancer 
was  bringing  her  brilliant  career  to  a  close,  gave  twenty 
thousand  francs  as  a  wedding-present,  and  her  mother  added 
a  most  elaborate  trousseau.  The  frequenters  of  her  house  and 
her  comrades  at  the  opera  made  her  presents  of  jewelry  and 
plate,  so  that  the  Colleville  household  was  much  richer  in 
superfluities  than  cash.  Flavie,  raised  in  luxury,  at  first  had 
a  charming  suite  of  rooms  which  had  been  furnished  by  her 
mother's  decorator,  and  where  this  young  wife  held  court, 
airing  her  taste  for  the  arts,  artists,  and  for  a  certain  elegance. 

Mme.  Colleville  was  at  once  pretty  and  piquante,  bright, 
gay,  gracious,  and  an  expounder  of  that  name — a  jolly  good 
fellow.  The  dancer,  now  aged  forty-three,  retired  from  the 
stage  and  went  to  live  in  the  country,  which  deprived  her 
daughter  of  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  her  mother's  luxury 
and  extravagance.  Mme.  Colleville's  house  was  very  pleasant, 
but  tremendously  expensive.  Between  18 16  to  1826  she  had 
five  children.  A  musician  in  the  evening,  from  seven  to  nine 
in  the  morning  Colleville  kept  the  books  of  a  merchant.  By 
ten  o'clock  he  was  at  the  bureau.     Thus  by  blowing  into  a 


70  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

wooden  pipe  in  the  evening,  and  writing  out  accounts  in 
double  entry  in  the  morning,  he  made  seven  to  eight  thousand 
francs  per  annum. 

Mme.  Colleville  played  the  lady  of  high  society  ;  she  re- 
ceived on  Wednesdays ;  she  gave  a  musicale  each  month,  and 
a  dinner  every  fortnight.  She  only  saw  Colleville  at  dinner 
in  the  evening  ;  when  he  returned  toward  midnight,  she  very 
often  had  not  yet  come  in.  She  was  at  the  play,  for  she  often 
had  a  box  given  her,  or  she  would  leave  word  for  Colleville  to 
call  for  her  at  some  house  where  she  was  at  a  dance  or  a 
supper.  Excellent  fare  was  provided  by  Mme.  Colleville, 
and  the  society,  somewhat  mixed,  was  excessively  amusing ; 
she  received  famous  actresses,  painters,  men  of  letters,  and 
some,  wealthy  men.  Mme.  Colleville's  elegance  was  on  a  par 
with  that  of  TuUia,  the  operatic  premier  danseuse,  of  whom 
she  saw  a  great  deal ;  but,  though  the  Collevilles  dipped  into 
their  capital,  often  finding  it  difficult  to  make  both  ends  meet, 
at  the  month's  end  Flavie  was  never  in  debt. 

Colleville  was  very  happy  ;  he  still  loved  his  wife  and  was 
always  her  good  friend.  Ever  welcomed  with  an  affectionate 
smile  and  infectious,  pretty  manner,  he  yielded  to  her  irresist- 
ible graces  and  fascination.  Tlie  ferocious  activity  he  em- 
ployed in  his  three  several  callings  were  well  suited  to  his 
character  and  temperament.  He  was  a  big,  burly,  good- 
natured  fellow,  florid,  jovial,  lavish,  and  full  of  whims.  In 
ten  years  there  had  not  been  a  single  quarrel  in  his  household. 
He  passed  at  the  bureau  as  a  scatterbrain,  the  character  given 
all  artists,  but  they  were  superficial  thinkers  who  mistake  the 
constant  haste  of  a  busy  man  for  the  bustle  of  a  muddler. 

Thanks  to  the  relations  of  Mme.  Colleville,  the  theatre  and 
the  department  bowed  to  the  exigencies  of  the  cumulatist, 
who,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  was  training  a  young  man 
earnestly  recommended  by  his  wife,  a  great  musician  of  the 
future,  who  often  took  his  place  in  the  orchestra,  being  prom- 
ised his  succession. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  71 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  in  1827,  this  young  man  became  the 
first  clarionet,  on  Colleville's  retirement. 

AH  the  criticism  that  Flavie  aroused  was  in  the  words  : 
*•  She  is  a  little  bit  of  a  flirt,  this  Madame  Colleville  !  " 

The  eldest  of  the  Colleville  children,  born  in  1816,  was  the 
living  image  of  the  jolly  Colleville.  In  1818  Mme.  Colleville 
thought  the  cavalry  was  everything,  even  ranking  the  arts;  she 
smiled  upon  a  sub-lieutenant  of  the  Saint-Chamans  dragoons, 
the  young  and  wealthy  Charles  Gondreville,  who  afterward 
died  in  the  Spanish  campaign  ;  her  second  son  was  already 
destined  for  a  military  career.  In  1820  she  looked  upon  the 
bank  as  the  foster-mother  of  industry,  the  backbone  of  the 
State,  and  the  great  Keller,  the  famous  orator,  was  her  idol ; 
then  she  had  another  son,  Francois,  who  was  to  go  into 
mercantile  pursuits  and  would  never  lack  the  protection  of 
Francois  Keller. 

Toward  the  end  of  1820,  Thuillier,  the  intimate  friend  of 
M.  and  Mme.  Colleville,  and  Flavie's  admirer,  felt  the  neces- 
sity of  confiding  his  sorrows  £0  the  bosom  of  that  excellent 
woman,  to  whom  he  recounted  his  conjugal  miseries ;  for  six 
years  he  had  tried  for  children,  but  God  had  not  blessed  his 
efforts;  for  poor  Mme.  Thuillier  had  vainly  said  novenas ; 
she  had  even  gone  to  Notre-Dame  de  Liesse  !  He  depicted 
Celeste  in  every  phase,  and  the  words  "  Poor  Thuillier  "  fell 
from  Mme.  Colleville's  lips,  who,  on  her  part,  was  much  de- 
pressed ;  just  now  she  had  no  predominant  opinion.  She 
poured  her  vexation  into  Thuillier's  heart.  The  great  Keller, 
the  hero  of  the  Left,  was  awfully  mean ;  she  had  seen  the 
wrong  side  of  glory,  the  follies  of  the  bank,  the  shallowness  of 
the  Tribune.  The  orator  never  spoke,  save  in  the  Chamber, 
and  he  had  treated  her  very  badly. 

Thuillier  was  indignant. 

"It's  not  only  brutes  that  know  how  to  love,"  said  he; 
**take  me!" 
And  Handsome  Thuillier  was  said  to  be  making  up  to  Mme. 


72  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

CoUcville,  paying  her  ''attentions,"  in  the  words  of  the  Em- 
pire. 

"Ah  !  you  are  mashed  on  my  wife  !  "  said  CollcTille,  laugh- 
ing.    "But  lookout  or  she'll  shake  you  like  all  the  others." 

A  shrewd  speech,  allowing  Colleville  to  preserve  his  mari 
tal  dignity  in  the  bureau.  In  1820-21  Thuillier,  under  his 
authority  as  a  friend  of  the  family,  was  able  to  assist  Colle- 
ville, who  had  so  frequently  of  old  helped  him  ;  during  eigh- 
teen months  he  had  loaned  the  Collevilles  ten  thousand  francs, 
never  intending  to  afterward  speak  of  it.  In  the  spring  of 
1821  Madame  Colleville  was  confined  with  a  handsome  little 
girl,  to  whom  M.  and  Mme.  Thuillier  acted  as  godfather  and 
godmother ;  she  was  named  Celeste-Louise-Caroline-Brigitte. 
Mile.  Thuillier  wished  that  one  of  her  names  should  be  given 
to  this  little  angel.  The  name  of  Caroline  was  a  compliment 
to  Colleville. 

Old  Mamma  Lemprun  took  upon  herself  the  putting  out  to 
nurse  of  the  pretty  creature,  which  was  kept  under  her  own 
eyes  at  Auteuil,  where  Celeste  and  her  sister-in-law  went  to 
see  her  twice  each  week.  As  soon  as  Mme.  Colleville  was 
about  again,  she  said  to  Thuillier,  very  frankly  and  in  a 
serious  tone: 

"My  dear  friend,  if  we  wish  to  remain  good  friends,  you 
cannot  be  more  than  my  friend  ;  Colleville  loves  you  :  well, 
then,  one  in  the  family  is  quite  enough." 

"Explain  to  me,"  said  Handsome  Thuillier  to  Tullia,  the 
dancer,  who  had  made  a  call  on  Mme.  Colleville,  "why 
women  are  so  little  attached  to  me.  I  am  not  the  Apollo 
Belvidere,  but  on  the  other  hand  neither  am  I  a  Vulcan  j  I 
am  passable,  I  am  intelligent,  I  am  faithful " 

"Would  you  have  the  truth  ?  "  asked  Tullia. 

"Yes,"  said  Handsome  Thuillier. 

"  Well,  then,  although  sometimes  we  may  love  an  idiot,  we 
can  never  love  a  fool." 

These  words  killed  Thuillier;  he  couldn't  get  over  it;  he 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  73 

had  a  spell  of  melancholy  and  accused  women  of  being  fantas- 
tical. 

"Didn't  I  give  you  the  tip?"  said  Colleville;  "I  am  not 
Napoleon,  dear  boy  ;  I  might  be  sorry  if  I  were  ;  but  I  have 
my  Josephine — a  pearl  !  " 

The  minister's  secretary,  des  Lupeaulx,  who  was  supposed 
by  Mme.  Colleville  to  have  more  influence  than  he  really  had, 
of  whom  she  used  afterward  to  say  :  "  He  was  one  of  my 
mistakes,"  was  during  a  long  time  the  great  man  of  the  Colle-< 
ville  salon ;  but  as  he  had  not  the  power  necessary  to  have 
Colleville  named  for  the  division  of  Bois-Levant,  Flavie  had 
the  good  sense  to  resent  his  attentions  to  Mme.  Rabourdin, 
wife  of  the  chief  of  the  bureau,  a  minx,  as  she  said,  to  whose 
home  she  had  never  been  invited,  and  whom  on  two  different 
occasions  had  had  the  impertinence  to  stay  away  from  her 
musicales. 

Mme.  Colleville  acutely  felt  the  shock  of  young  Gondre- 
ville's  death ;  she  was  quite  inconsolable ;  she  saw  in  it,  she 
said,  the  hand  of  God.  In  1824  she  mended  her  ways,  talked 
economy,  gave  up  her  receptions,  occupied  herself  with  her 
children,  and  became  a  good  mother  of  her  family;  and  her 
friends  had  no  knowledge  of  an  attendant  favorite ;  but  she 
went  to  church,  she  reformed  her  dress,  she  wore  sober  colors, 
she  talked  of  Catholicism  and  the  proprieties,  and  all  this 
mysticism  resulted  in  the  production  of  a  bouncing  boy,  in 
1825,  whom  she  named  Theodore,  that  is  to  say,  "the  gift  of 
God." 

So,  in  1826,  the  good  times  of  the  Congregation,  Colleville 
was  appointed  sub-chief  in  Clergeot's  division,  becoming,  in 
1828,  a  revenue  collector  in  a  Paris  arrondissement.  He  also 
obtained  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  which  in  the  end 
entitled  him  to  the  education  of  his  daughter  at  Saint-Denis. 
In  1832,  by  the  advice  of  Mile.  Thuillier,  he  settled  near 
them,  where  he  obtained  a  clerkship  in  the  mayor's  office, 
paying  one  thousand  crowns. 


74  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Charles  Colleville  had  just  entered  the  Naval  School.  The 
colleges  to  which  the  other  young  Collevilles  went  were  in 
the  same  quarter.  The  seminary  of  Saint-Sulpice,  where  the 
youngest  was  to  be  entered  some  day,  was  close  by  the  Lux- 
embourg. Finally,  Thuillier  and  Colleville  should  properly 
end  their  days  together. 

In  1833  the  Colleville  family,  after  leading  a  life  first  of 
show  and  dissipation,  then  of  tranquil  retirement,  was  become 
reduced  to  middle-class  obscurity,  on  a  total  income  of  five 
thousand  four  hundred  francs. 

Celeste  was  now  twelve ;  she  promised  to  be  pretty ;  she 
needed  masters ;  that  would  cut  down  their  income  by  two 
thousand  francs.  Her  mother  felt  the  need  of  placing  her 
under  the  eyes  of  her  godfather  and  godmother.  So  she  had 
adopted  the  proposition,  so  wisely  thought  out,  of  Mile. 
Thuillier,  who,  without  committing  herself,  gave  Mmc.  Colle- 
ville to  understand  pretty  plainly  that  her  brother's,  her  sister- 
in-law's,  and  her  own  fortune  were  destined  for  Celeste. 

The  little  frolic  had  seen  more  of  Mile,  and  Mme.  Thuillier 
than  of  her  mother  until  she  went  home,  after  Mme.  Lem- 
prun's  death,  in  1829.  In  1833  she  fell  more  than  ever  under 
Flavie's  management,  who  tried  to  do  her  whole  duty  by  her, 
and,  without  being  severe,  she  vi^as  very  strict  with  her ;  over- 
doing it,  as  women  do  who  are  tortured  by  remorse.  Flavie, 
without  being  a  bad  mother,  was  rigid  enough  with  her 
daughter ;  she  had  her  properly  instructed,  and,  remembering 
her  own  early  training,  vowed  secretly  that  she  would  make 
an  honest  woman  of  Celeste  and  not  a  light  one.  She  took 
her  to  mass,  and  she  had  her  prepared  for  her  first  communion 
under  the  direction  of  a  Paris  cure,  who  has  since  become  a 
bishop.  Celeste  was  the  more  pious  because  Mme.  Thuillier, 
her  godmother,  was  a  perfect  saint,  and  the  child  adored  her 
godmother;  she  felt  that  she  was  more  genuinely  loved  by 
this  poor,  lonely  woman  than  by  her  mother. 

Thuillier  had  not  been  able  to  withstand  the  action  of  the 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  75 

rolling-mill  of  administrative  routine,  where  the  brains  are 
worn  thin  in  proportion  as  they  are  flattened  out.  Used  up 
by  fastidious  work,  beside  counting  his  successes  as  a  lady's 
man,  the  ex-sub-chief  had  lost  all  his  best  faculties  by  the  time 
he  had  moved  to  the  Rue  Saint-Dominique,  but  his  drawn 
features,  which  wore  a  rather  arrogant  expression,  with  a 
mixture  of  self-satisfaction,  which  may  have  been  the  fatuity 
of  the  superior  employe,  deeply  impressed  Celeste.  She  alone 
adored  that  sallow  face.  She  knew  that  she  was  the  joy  of 
the  Thuillier  household. 

The  Collevilles  and  their  children,  together  with  an  ex- 
clerk  of  La  Billardiere's  division,  Monsieur  Phellion,  formed 
the  nucleus  of  Mile.  Thuillier's  society.  Phellion  was  one  of 
the  most  respected  men  in  the  arrondissement ;  he  had  be- 
come, too,  a  major  in  the  National  Guard.  He  had  one 
daughter,  formerly  an  under-teacher  in  the  Lagrave  school, 
now  married  to  a  professor  in  the  Rue  Saint-Hyacinthe,  M. 
Barniol. 

Phellion's  eldest  son  was  a  professor  of  mathematics  in  a 
royal  college  and  gave  lessons,  coached  pupils,  and  devoted 
himself,  as  his  father  expressed  it,  to  pure  mathematics.  The 
second  son  was  at  the  College  of  Engineers.  Phellion  had  a 
pension  of  nine  hundred  francs,  some  little  interest  on  his 
savings  during  thirty  years  of  thrift,  and  owned  a  little  house 
with  a  garden  attached,  in  which  he  lived  on  the  Impasse  des 
Feuillantines.  (In  thirty  years  he  had  not  once  used  the  old 
term  cul-de-sac. "^^ 

Dutocq,  clerk  to  a  justice  of  the  peace,  had  formerly  been 
employed  in  the  ministry  of  finance ;  he  had  been  sacrificed 
on  one  of  those  necessities  of  a  government  which  is  represen- 
tative ',  he  had  permitted  himself  to  be  made  the  scapegoat  in 
a  scandal  occurring  in  the  office  of  the  committee  on  appro- 
priations, for  which  he  received  a  fairly  round  sum  ;  this  had 
enabled  him  to  purchase  his  clerkship.  This  man,  of  little 
*  Blind  alley  or  court. 


76  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

honor,  the  spy  of  the  bureau,  was  not  received  in  the  manner 
he  thought  his  due  by  the  Thuilliers ;  but  his  landlord's  cold- 
ness only  made  him  more  persistent  in  his  visits. 

He  remained  a  bachelor,  and  indulged  his  vices ;  his  life 
was  carefully  hidden,  and  he  was  an  adept  at  flattering  his 
superiors.  The  justice  of  the  peace  had  a  great  esteem  for 
Dutocq.  That  infamous  person  made  himself  tolerated  by 
the  Thuilliers  by  base  and  gross  adulation  which  never  fails 
in  its  effects.  He  knew  the  bottom  of  Thuillier's  life,  his  re- 
lations with  CoUeville,  and  more  so  with  madaro.e ;  they 
feared  his  formidable  tongue,  and  the  Thuilliers,  without 
admitting  him  to  their  friendship,  permitted  his  visits  on 
sufferance. 

The  family  that  became  the  flower  of  the  Thuilliers'  salon 
was  that  of  a  poor,  petty  clerk,  who  had  been  the  object  of 
compassion  in  the  bureau,  and  who,  driven  by  penury,  had 
left  the  bureau  in  1827  to  throw  himself  into  trade  with  an 
idea. 

Minard  foresaw  a  fortune  in  one  of  those  perverse  concep- 
tions which  are  a  disgrace  to  French  commerce,  but  which, 
in  1827,  had  not  yet  been  blown  on  by  publicity.  Minard 
bought  some  tea  and  mixed  it  with  dried  tea-leaves ;  then  he 
practiced  changing  the  constituents  of  chocolate,  altering  it 
so  that  he  could  sell  it  as  a  bargain.  This  trade  in  colonial 
produce,  begun  in  the  Saint-Marcel  quarter,  set  Minard  up  in 
trade ;  he  had  a  factory,  and,  through  his  connections,  was 
now  able  to  obtain  the  raw  materials  from  their  source ;  thus 
on  ah  honorable  and  large  scale  he  carried  out  the  business  he 
had  started  in  such  a  shady  manner.  He  became  a  distiller, 
enormous  quantities  of  raw  imports  were  handled  by  him,  tiU 
he  came  to  pass,  in  1835,  as  the  richest  trader  in  the  Place 
Maubert  quarter.  He  bought  one  of  the  most  beautiful  houses 
on  the  Rue  des  Maq:ons-Sorbonne  ;*  he  had  been  deputy  and, 
in  1839,  was  named  for  mayor  of  his  arrondissement  and 
*  Now  the  Rue  ChampoUion. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  77 

judge  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  kept  a  carriage, 
had  a  country  place  near  Lagny;  his  wife  wore  diamonds  at 
the  Court  balls,  and  he  flaunted  the  rosette  of  officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  in  his  button-hole. 

Minard  and  his  wife  were  always  excessively  beneficent. 
Perhaps  they  wished  to  restore  retail  to  the  poor  what  they 
exacted  wholesale  from  the  public.  Phellion,  Colleville,  and 
Thuillier  encountered  Minard  during  the  elections,  which  re- 
sulted in  an  acquaintance,  soon  to  become  intimate,  between 
the  Minards,  Collevilles,  and  Thuilliers,  because  Madame 
Zelie  Minard  appeared  enchanted  to  introduce  her  "young 
miss"  to  Celeste  Colleville.  The  Minards  gave  a  fine  ball 
for  Celeste's  debut  into  society,  she  being  then  sixteen-and-a- 
half;  her  drcbs  befitted  her  name  and  seemed  prophetic  of 
good  for  her  life. 

Minard' s  eldest  son  was  a  barrister;  he  had  the  hope  of 
succeeding  some  of  those  advocates  who,  since  1830,  by  their 
political  opinions  had  become  estranged  from  the  Court ;  he 
was  the  genius  of  the  family,  and  his  mother,  not  less  than  his 
father,  aspired  to  see  him  well  married. 

Zelie  Minard,  formerly  an  artificial  flower-maker,  had  an 
ardent  passion  for  moving  in  the  higher  social  circles,  which 
she  thought  to  penetrate  into  by  the  marriage  of  her  son  and 
daughter,  while  Minard,  wiser  than  she,  and,  being  imbued 
with  the  power  of  the  middle-class  resulting  from  the  Revolu- 
tion of  July,  had  his  every  fibre  infiltrated  with  a  desire  for 
wealth. 

He  haunted  the  Thuilliers'  salon  to  learn  Celeste's  prospects 
as  an  heiress.  He  knew,  like  Dutocq  and  Phellion,  the  scandal 
occasioned  by  Thuillier's  intimacy  with  Flavie,  and  with  half 
an  eye  he  was  able  to  see  the  idolatry  of  the  Thuilliers  for 
their  goddaughter.  Dutocq,  eager  for  admission  to  the  Min- 
ards, fawned  on  them  prodigiously.  When  Minard,  the  Roths- 
child of  the  arrondissement,  first  appeared  at  the  Thuilliers, 
he  compared  him,  almost  wittily,  to  Napoleon,  as  he  now  saw 


Ti  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

him  burly,  fat,  and  flourishing,  wliereas,  when  he  last  knew 
him  at  the  bureau,  he  was  lean,  pale,  and  sickly. 

"When  you  were  in  La  Billardiere's  division,"  said  he, 
"you  were  like  Napoleon  before  the  i8th  Brumaire,  and  I 
see  you  now  the  Napoleon  of  the  Empire." 

Nevertheless  Minard  treated  him  coldly  and  extended  no 
invitation  for  a  visit  to  his  house ;  so  he  made  a  mortal  enemy 
of  the  venomous  clerk. 

The  Phellions  had  designs  on  Celeste,  it  struck  them  that 
she  was  the  very  thing  for  their  son  the  professor.  So  they 
lined  up  a  phalanx  of  seven,  all  fairly  faithful  to  each  other ; 
the  Colleville  family  was  equally  numerous,  so  that  on  occa- 
sional Sundays  there  would  be  as  many  as  thirty  persons  in 
the  Thuillier  salon.  Thuillier  renewed  his  acquaintance  with 
the  Saillards,  the  Baudoyers,  the  Falleixs,*  all  people  of  impor- 
tance in  the  Place-Royalc  quarter,  and  frequently  invited  to 
dinner. 

Mme.  Colleville,  among  the  women,  was  the  most  distin- 
guished personage  of  this  circle,  like  as  also  Minard's  son 
and  Professor  Phellion  were  its  superior  men ;  for  all  the 
others,  without  education  and  ideas,  and  risen  from  the  lower 
ranks,  were  types  of  the  absurd  in  the  lower  middle-classes. 
Although  a  fortune  made  in  the  past  seems  to  possess  merit, 
Minard  was  but  an  inflated  balloon.  He  floundered  in  long- 
drawn  phrases,  took  obsequiousness  for  politeness  and  the 
form  for  the  spirit,  and  uttered  his  commonplaces  in  such  style 
and  mouthings  that  they  were  accepted  as  eloquence.  These 
phrases  which  say  nothing  and  answer  every  purpose — progress, 
steam,  asphalt.  National  Guard,  order,  democratic  spirit, 
power  of  cooperation,  legality,  motion  and  resistance,  intimi- 
dation— seemed  at  each  political  crisis  to  have  been  invented 
for  Minard,  who  then  paraphrased  the  ideas  of  his  newspaper. 
Julien  Minard,  the  young  barrister,  suffered  under  his  father 
what  his  father  suffered  under  his  wife.  In  fact,  with  her  for- 
*  See  "  Les  Employes." 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  79 

tune,  Z6lie  had  assumed  pretensions,  though  she  could  never 
learn  to  speak  decent  French  ;  she  had  become  fat,  and  in 
her  handsome  attire  looked  like  a  cook  who  had  married  her 
master. 

Phellion,  that  model  of  a  lower  bourgeois,  was  equally 
blessed  with  virtues  and  absurdities,  A  subordinate  during 
his  bureaucratic  life,  he  highly  respected  social  superiority. 
In  the  presence  of  Minard  he  was  silent.  He  had  admirably 
resisted,  by  his  own  efforts,  the  critical  times  of  superannuation, 
and  this  is  how :  never  had  the  worthy  and  excellent  man 
had  a  chance  of  indulging  his  tastes.  He  loved  the  city  of 
Paris ;  he  took  intense  interest  in  the  improvements  and  em- 
bellishments ;  he  was  the  man  who  would  be  arrested,  for  two 
hours  running,  by  the  demolition  of  a  house. 

He  could  stand  surprised,  bravely  planted  on  his  two  feet, 
nose  in  air,  watching  for  the  fall  of  a  stone  which  the  mason  was 
dislodging  with  a  crowbar  from  the  top  of  a  wall,  and  did  not 
even  quit  his  place  when  the  stone  fell ;  when  all  was  over  off 
he  would  go  as  happy  as  an  Academician  at  the  damning  of  a 
melodrama.  Veritable  components  of  the  great  social  comedy, 
Phellion,  Laudigeois,  and  the  like,  represent  the  functions  of 
the  antique  chorus.  They  weep  when  others  weep,  laugh 
when  expected  to  laugh,  singing  in  chorus  over  public  catas- 
trophes and  popular  rejoicings,  triumphant  in  their  own  corner 
over  the  triumphs  of  Algiers,  Constantine,  Lisbon,  and  Saint- 
Jean-d'UUoa ;  equally  deploring  the  death  of  Napoleon  and 
the  fatal  disasters  of  Saint-Merri  and  the  Rue  Transnonnain  ; 
regretting  the  famous  men  who  are  the  most  unknown  of 
them. 

Still  Phellion  showed  two  faces ;  if  any  street  fighting  oc- 
curred he  stoutly  declared  himself  in  the  sight  of  his  neigh- 
bors ;  he  would  be  in  his  place  on  the  parade  ground  of  his 
regiment,  the  Place  Saint-Michel ;  he  pitied  the  government, 
but  he  did  his  duty ;  he  would  help  suppress  a  riot,  supported 
the  reigning  dynasty,  and  when  the  political  trials  followed 


80  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

made  excuses  for  the  culprits.  These  "  weather-cockish " 
opinions  were  harnnless  and  permeated  his  political  views : 

Answerable  for  all  was  the  Colossus  of  the  North.  As 
for  England,  she  was  like  the  old  "  Constitutionnel,"  a  double- 
dealing  gossip ;  by  turns  Machiavellian  Albion  and  a  model 
country — Machiavellian  when  she  jostled  the  interests  of 
France  or  bruised  Napoleon ;  a  model  country  when  the 
faults  of  his  government  were  in  question. 

This  honorable  old  man  was  always  dignified  ;  dignity  was 
the  keynote  of  his  life.  He  raised  his  children  with  dignity ; 
in  their  eyes  he  was  always  the  father ;  he  insisted  on  respect 
being  paid  him  at  home,  as  he  honored  power  and  his  supe- 
riors. He  never  had  a  debt.  A  juryman,  his  conscience 
made  him  sweat  blood  and  water  as  he  followed  the  pleadings 
of  a  trial ;  he  never  laughed,  not  even  should  the  court  laugh, 
or  the  judge  or  public  authorities.  Always  at  the  service  of 
all,  he  gave  his  care,  his  time,  all  except  his  money,  Felix 
Phellion,  his  son,  the  professor,  was  his  idol ;  he  thought 
him  capable  of  gaining  the  Academy  of  Science.  Thuillier, 
between  the  audacious  stupidity  of  Minard  and  the  candid 
simplicity  of  Phellion,  was  like  a  neutral  element,  but  there 
was  in  him  that  of  each  in  his  melancholy  experience.  He 
hid  his  addled  brain  by  his  banalities,  like  as  he  covered  the 
yellow  skin  of  his  skull  under  the  thin  wisps  of  his  gray  hair, 
artfully  combed  back  by  the  barber. 

"In  all  other  walks  of  life,"  said  he,  speaking  of  the 
bureau,  "I  could  surely  have  had  better  luck." 

He  had  seen  the  good,  that  which  is  possible  in  theory  and 
improbable  in  practice  ;  the  results  contradicted  the  premises ; 
he  would  relate  the  intrigues,  the  injustice  of  the  Rabourdin 
affair. 

"  After  that,  how  much  is  one  to  believe  ?  "  said  he.  "'  Ah  ! 
a  queer  thing  is  the  administration,  and  I  am  very  happy  in 
not  having  a  son,  so  that  I  cannot  sec  him  hustling  for  a 
post." 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  81 

Colleville,  always  gay,  rotund,  good-fellow,  joker,  and 
quibbler,  inventing  his  anagrams,  always  hustling,  represented 
the  bourgeois  meddler  and  mocker,  the  ability  without  the 
success,  persistent  hard  work  without  result,  but  also  the  re- 
signed jollity,  narrow  intelligence,  art  wasted  (he  was  an 
excellent  musician),  for  he  only  played  now  to  amuse  his 
daughter. 

The  women  of  the  Thuillier  salon  were  all  for  the  Jesuits ; 
the  men  defended  the  University ;  but  the  women  generally 
listened.  A  man  of  intelligence,  if  he  could  have  endured 
the  tedium  of  these  soirees,  would  have  laughed  as  much  as  at 
a  comedy  by  Molidre,  to  hear,  after  a  long  discussion,  such  a 
speech  as  this: 

"The  Revolution  of  1789  could  have  been  averted,  eh? 
Louis  XIV. 's  borrowing  opened  the  way.  Louis  XV.,  an 
egoist,  a  man  with  the  spirit  of  ceremony  "  (he  had  said: 
"If  I  were  Chief  of  Police  I  would  abolish  cabriolets  ")  "a 
dissolute  king — you  know  all  about  his  dear  park  !  * — con- 
tributed largely  to  open  the  gulf  of  revolution.  M.  de 
Necker,  a  malevolent  Genevese,  agitated  it.  Foreigners  have 
always  had  it  in  for  France.  The  Maximum  did  much  harm 
to  the  Revolution.  By  right,  Louis  XVI.  ought  not  to  have 
been  condemned;  a  jury  would  have  acquitted  him.  Why 
was  Charles  X.  overthrown  ?  Napoleon  was  a  great  man  and 
the  details  which  attest  his  genius  are  found  in  anecdotes 
of  him.  He  took  five  pinches  of  snufF  a  minute,  keeping  it 
loose  in  his  vest  pocket  lined  with  leather.  He  checked  off 
all  the  contractors'  accounts,  and  went  to  the  Rue  Saint-Denis 
to  learn  the  cost  of  things.  Talma  was  his  friend ;  Talma 
taught  him  all  his  gestures,  and  yet  he  always  refused  to  deco- 
rate Talma.  The  Emperor  mounted  guard  one  time  for  a 
sentry  who  had  fallen  asleep  and  thus  saved  him  from  being 
shot.  For  these  things  the  soldiers  worshiped  him.  Louis 
XVIII.,  although  a  smart  man,  showed  a  lack  of  justice  in 
*  Pare  aux  eerfs. 


82  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

regard  to  him  when  he  spoke  of  him  as  Monsieur  de  Bona- 
parte. The  fault  of  the  present  government  is  that  it  allows 
itself  to  be  led,  instead  of  leading.  It  places  itself  too  low. 
It  fears  men  of  energy  ;  it  should  have  torn  up  the  treaties  of 
1815  and  demanded  the  Rhine  of  Europe.  The  ministry 
plays  too  much  with  the  same  men." 

"There,  you  have  displayed  enough  intelligence  now," 
said  Mile.  Thuillier,  after  one  of  these  luminous  reflections; 
"the  altar  is  dressed,  come  and  play  your  little  game." 

The  old  maid  ended  all  these  discussions,  such  a  bore  to  the 
women,  by  this  suggestion. 

If  all  these  anterior  facts,  all  these  generalizations  had  not 
been  given,  as  the  gist  of  the  argument,  to  provide  a  fitting 
set  for  this  Scene,  giving  a  due  idea  of  the  spirit  of  this 
society,  perhaps  the  drama  would  be  the  sufferer.  This 
sketch  is  faithfully  and  historically  truthful,  and  shows  up  a 
social  stratum  of  some  importance  in  this  chronicle  of  manners, 
more  especially  when  the  political  system  of  the  younger 
branch  took  it  as  its  fulcrum. 

The  winter  of  the  year  1839  was,  in  some  sort,  the  time 
when  the  Thuillier  salon  attained  its  greatest  splendor.  The 
Minards  were  seen  there  nearly  every  Sunday ;  they  com- 
menced by  passing  an  hour  there  when  they  were  obliged  to 
attend  other  soirees,  and  oftener  than  not  Minard  would  leave 
his  wife  there,  taking  with  him  his  daughter  and  his  eldest  son, 
the  barrister.  This  assiduity  of  the  Minards  was  caused  by  a 
meeting  between  Messrs.  Metivier,  Barbet,  and  Minard,  on 
one  evening  when  these  two  important  tenants  had  remained 
later  than  usual  to  chat  with  Mile.  Thuillier.  Minard  was 
apprised  by  Barbet  that  the  old  demoiselle  took  of  him  in  the 
neighborhood  of  thirty  thousand  francs  in  notes  each  six 
months;  and  that  she  took  a  like  amount  from  Metivier,  so 
that  she  must  have  in  her  hands  at  least  one  hundred  and 
eighty  thousand  francs. 

**  I  loan  on  books  at  twelve  per  cent.,  taking  only  the  best 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  83 

names.  Nothing  suits  me  better,"  said  Barbet,  in  conclusion. 
"I  say  that  she  must  have  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand 
francs,  for  she  cannot  give  notes  for  more  than  ninety  days  at 
the  Bank." 

"She  has,  then,  an  account  at  the  Bank?  "  said  Minard. 

"So  I  believe,"  answered  Barbet, 

Friendly  with  a  governor  of  the  Bank,  Minard  learned  that 
Mile.  Thuillier  had  in  fact  an  account  there  amounting  to 
about  two  hundred  thousand  francs,  guaranteed  by  a  deposit 
of  forty  shares  of  stock.  This  security  was,  he  said,  unneces- 
sary ;  the  Bank  had  the  highest  regard  for  a  person  so  well 
known  as  the  responsible  manager  of  Celeste  Lemprun's 
affairs,  the  daughter  of  an  employe  who  had  seen  as  many 
years  of  service  as  the  Bank  had  been  in  existence.  Mile. 
Thuillier  had  not  once  overdrawn  her  account  in  twenty 
years.  She  always  placed  in  sixty  thousand  francs  in  notes  at 
three  months,  which  came  to  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand.  The  deposited  shares  represented  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  francs,  so  there  was  no  risk,  for  the  notes 
were  of  the  full  value  of  sixty  thousand  francs.  "Indeed," 
said  the  comptroller,  "  if  she  sent  us,  in  the  third  month,  one 
hundred  thousand  francs  in  notes  we  should  not  reject  a  single 
one.  She  has  a  house  of  her  own  which  is  not  mortgaged  and 
is  worth  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  francs.  Beside,  all 
the  notes  come  through  Barbet  and  Metivier,  and  are  thus 
endorsed  with  four  signatures,  including  her  own." 

"Why  does  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  work  so  hard?  "  asked 
Minard  of  Metivier.  "Why,  this  is  the  very  one  for  you," 
he  added. 

"Oh!  as  to  me,"  replied  Metivier,  "I  can  do  better  by 
marrying  one  of  my  cousins  ;  my  Uncle  Metivier  has  promised 
me  his  business;  he  has  a  hundred  thousand  francs  in  the 
Funds  and  only  two  daughters." 

However  secret  Mile.  Thuillier  might  be,  saying  nothing  of 
her  affairs  to  any  person,  not  even  her  brother ;  and  although 


84  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

she  amassed  in  one  lump  sum  her  own  investments  and  those 
of  Mme.  Thuillier's  beside  her  own,  it  was  almost  an  impos- 
sibility that  no  ray  of  light  should  at  length  pierce  through 
the  wooden  bushel  measure  in  which  she  secured  her  treasure. 

"  Celeste  will  have  two  hundred  thousand  francs  from  us  in 
cold  cash,"  said  the  old  maid,  in  confidence  to  Barbet ;  "  and 
Madame  Thuillier  on  the  signing  of  her  contract  will  settle 
her  property  upon  her.  As  for  myself,  my  will  is  made.  My 
brother  is  given  a  life  interest  in  all,  and  Celeste  will  have 
the  reversion.  Monsieur  Cardot,  my  notary,  is  my  execu- 
tor." 

Cardot,  the  notary,  presented  a  suitor  in  the  person  of 
Maitre  Godeschal,  attorney-at-la\v,  successor  to  Derville,  a 
man  of  thirty-six,  very  capable,  who  had  paid  one  hundred 
thousand  francs  on  his  connection,  which  two  hundred  thou- 
sand francs  of  a  dot  would  clear  off.  Minard  soon  cleared 
him  off  the  deck  by  informing  Mile.  Thuillier  that  Celeste 
vould  have  for  a  sister-in-law  the  famous  Mariette,  an  opera- 
dancer. 

"She  was  one  of  that  sort,"  said  Colleville,  alluding  to  his 
wife,  "and  she  doesn't  intend  returning." 

"Monsieur  Godeschal  is  altogether  too  old  for  Celeste," 
said  Brigitte. 

"And  then,"  added  Mme.  Thuillier,  timidly,  "would  it 
not  be  better  for  her  to  marry  some  one  of  her  choice  and  be 
happy?" 

The  poor  woman  had  perceived  in  F6lix  Phellion  a  true 
love  for  Celeste,  a  love  such  as  a  woman,  crushed  by  Brigitte 
and  chilled  by  Thuillier's  indifference,  who  cared  no  more 
for  the  society  of  his  wife  than  for  that  of  a  servant-girl,  might 
well  dream  of,  bold  at  heart,  shy  on  the  sdrface,  at  the  same 
time  strong  and  timid,  concentrated  before  all,  and  expand- 
ing to  the  heavens.  At  twenty-three,  Felix  Phellion  was  a 
gentle  young  man,  who  had  been  well  brought  up  by  his 
father ;  one  who  loved  learning  for  its  own  sake.     He  was  of 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  85 

medium  height,  with  light,  chestnut  hair,  gray  eyes,  a  much 
freckled  skin,  of  easy  manners,  very  little  given  to  gesticula- 
tions, thoughtful,  never  talking  nonsense,  never  contradicting 
any  one,  incapable  of  a  sordid  thought  or  an  egoistical  calcula- 
tion. 

"That's  the  kind  of  husband  I  should  have  liked  mine  to 
hare  been  !  "  Mme.  Thuillier  often  told  herself. 

About  the  beginning  of  1840,  in  the  month  of  February, 
the  personages  whose  silhouettes  have  here  been  made,  were 
assembled  in  the  Thuilliers'  salon.  It  was  near  the  end  of 
the  month.  Barbet  and  M6tivier  waited,  as  they  each  wanted 
to  borrow  thirty  thousand  francs  from  Mile.  Brigitte.  Celeste 
and  Prudence  Minard  were  sitting  together.  Young  Phellion 
listening  to  Mme.  Thuillier  could  gaze  at  Celeste. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  fireplace,  enthroned  on  an  easy- 
chair,  was  the  Queen  Elizabeth  of  the  family,  dressed  as 
plainly  as  when  she  was  thirty  years  old,  for  prosperity  was 
unable  to  cause  a  change  in  her  habits.  Her  chinchilla  hair 
was  surmounted  by  a  gauze  bonnet  ornamented  with  Charles 
X.-Geranium  flowers;  her  Cornith-plum  colored  stuff  gown 
might  have  cost  as  much  as  fifteen  francs ;  her  embroidered 
collarette,  worth  about  six  francs,  hardly  hid  the  deep  hollow 
produced  by  the  two  muscles  which  attach  the  head  to  the 
spine.  Monvel,  when  he  played  Augustus  in  his  latter  days, 
had  no  sterner  profile  than  this  autocratic  knitter  of  stockings 
for  her  brother.  In  front  of  the  fireplace  posed  Thuillier,  pre- 
pared to  receive  any  arrivals ;  by  his  side  stood  a  young  man 
whose  entree  had  produced  a  great  effect,  when  the  janitor, 
who  on  Sunday  donned  his  best  clothes  to  act  the  footman, 
had  announced  "Monsieur  Olivier  Vinet." 

He  was  here  as  the  result  of  a  confidential  hint  given  by 
Cardot  to  this  young  magistrate's  father,  a  famous  public 
prosecutor.  Cardot  had  estimated  the  present  value  of  the 
money  to  be  left  to  Celeste  at  seven  hundred  thousand  francs 
at  least.    Vinet's  son  had  appeared  delighted  at  being  given 


86  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

the  privilege  of  going  on  Sunday  as  a  guest  of  the  Thuilliers. 
Large  marriage-portions  in  these  days  lead  to  the  grossest 
follies  without  the  least  pudency. 

Ten  minutes  after,  another  young  man,  who  was  chatting 
with  Thuillier  before  the  arrival  of  Vinet,  raised  his  voice  in 
the  heat  of  a  political  discussion,  making  the  young  lawyer  do 
the  same  by  the  force  of  the  debate.  The  question  was  the 
vote  by  which  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  overthrew  the  minis- 
try of  May  1 2th,  in  refusing  the  grant  demanded  for  the  Due 
de  Nemurs. 

"Most  decidedly,"  said  the  young  man,  "I  am  very  far 
from  belonging  to  the  dynastic  party,  and  I  am  quite  as  far 
from  approving  the  elevation  of  the  bourgeoisie  into  power. 
The  middle-class  has  no  more  right  now  than  the  aristocracy 
had  then  to  preeminence  in  the  State.  But  the  French 
middle-classes  set  up  a  new  dynasty  for  themselves,  a  royalty 
of  their  own,  and  how  did  they  treat  it  !  When  the  people 
allowed  Napoleon  to  raise  himself,  he  created  on  his  side  a 
splendid  monumental  edifice ;  he  was  proud  of  his  grandeur, 
he  nobly  gave  his  blood  and  his  sweat  for  the  purpose  of  con- 
solidating the  Empire.  Between  the  magnificence  of  the 
aristocratic  enthronement  and  the  Imperial  purple,  between 
the  great  and  the  populace,  the  bourgeoisie  are  mean  and 
niggardly ;  they  drag  down  the  powers  that  be  to  their  own 
ignoble  level,  instead  of  trying  to  raise  themselves.  The 
economies  of  the  candle-ends  of  the  back-shops  they  practice 
on  their  princes ;  but  what  is  a  virtue  in  their  storehouses  is  a 
fault  and  a  crime  in  high  places.  I  wish  for  many  things  that 
would  be  good  for  the  people,  but  I  would  retrench  by  cutting 
off  ten  millions  from  the  new  civil  list.  Now  almost  all-pow- 
erful in  France,  the  bourgeoisie  ought  to  insure  the  happiness 
of  the  people,  of  splendor  without  extravagance  and  grandeur 
without  privilege." 

Olivier  Vinet's  father  was  not  quite  in  harmony  with  the 
present  government — he  had  not  yet  obtained  the  robes  of 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  87 

keeper  of  the  seals,  his  great  ambition ;  so  the  young  judge 
hardly  knew  how  to  answer. 

"  You  are  quite  right,  monsieur,"  said  Olivier  Vinet. 
"But  before  beginning  the  parade,  the  middle-class  owes  a 
duty  to  France.  The  luxury  of  which  you  speak  comes  after 
duty.  That  which  you  seem  to  think  as  worthy  of  reproach 
was  a  necessity  of  the  moment.  The  Chamber  is  far  from 
having  a  full  part  in  affairs ;  the  ministers  work  far  less  for 
France  than  for  the  crown,  and  the  Parliament  wishes  to  see 
a  ministry,  like  that  in  England,  which  has  a  strength  of  its 
own,  not  a  reflected,  borrowed  power.  The  day  that  the 
ministry  acts  for  itself  and  represents  the  power  of  the  execu- 
tive in  the  Chamber,  the  same  as  the  Chamber  represents  the 
country,  so  soon  will  the  Parliament  be  liberal  to  the  crown. 
That's  the  milk  in  the  cocoanut ;  I  merely  give  it  without 
saying  aught  of  my  personal  opinion,  since  the  duties  of  my 
office  require,  in  politics,  a  species  of  fealty  to  the  crown." 

"  Leaving  the  political  question,"  replied  the  young  man, 
whose  accent  indicated  a  son  of  Provence,  "  it  cannot  be  the 
less  true  that  the  bourgeoisie  have  failed  to  understand  their 
mission ;  we  see  public  prosecutors,  first  presidents,  peers  of 
France  riding  in  'busses,  judges  who  have  to  live  on  their 
salaries,  prefects  without  private  means,  ministers  in  debt; 
while  the  middle-class,  who  have  now  possession  of  all  these 
places,  ought  to  do  honor  to  them  as  before  the  aristocracy 
did  honor;  instead  of  holding  them  with  the  intention  of 
making  a  fortune,  as  has  been  demonstrated  in  numerous 
scandalous  trials,  they  should  be  occupied  with  a  due  ex- 
penditure  " 

"Who  is  this  young  man?"  said  Olivier  Vinet,  hearing 
him  with  wonder.  "Is  he  a  relative?  Cardot  should  have 
accompanied  me  the  first  time." 

"Who  is  the  little  monsieur?"  asked  Minard  of  Barbet. 
"  I  have  seen  him  here  several  times." 

"He  is  a  tenant,"  replied  Metivier,  dealing  the  cards. 


88  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  A  barrister,"  said  Barbet  in  a  low  voice ;  "  he  has  a  small 
suite  on  the  third-floor  front.  Oh  !  he's  no  great  shakes,  and 
owns  nothing." 

"What's  his  name?"  asked  Olivier  Vinet  of  M.  Thuillier. 

"Thdodose  de  la  Peyrade;  he  is  a  barrister,"  whispered 
Thuillier. 

All  turned  around  to  look  at  the  young  man,  and  Mme. 
Minard  could  not  refrain  saying  to  Colleville : 

"He's  a  good-looking  young  fellow." 

"I  have  made  an  anagram  of  his  name,"  said  Celeste's 
father  ;  "  the  letters  of  Charles-Marie-Theodose  de  la  Peyrade 
spell  out  this  prophecy  :  Eh  !  Monsieur  payer er,  de  la  dot,  des 
oies  et  le  cher — Be  careful,  my  dear  Madame  Minard,  to  keep 
from  giving  him  your  daughter." 

"They  find  him  nicer  looking  than  my  son,"  said  Mme. 
Phellion  to  Mme.  Colleville;  "  what  do  you  think?  " 

"Oh!  as  for  looks,"  replied  Mme.  Colleville,  "it  would 
be  a  toss-up  for  choice." 

Vinet  looked  around  at  the  roomful  of  middle-class  people 
and  thought  it  might  be  amiss  to  exalt  them  ;  he  made  out 
that  it  was  monstrous  to  try  and  save  out  of  the  emoluments 
of  an  appointment,  everything  had  so  increased  in  cost,  and 
so  on. 

"My  father,"  said  he,  in  conclusion,  "allows  me  a  thou- 
sand crowns  a  year,  and,  including  my  salary,  I  can  hardly 
make  both  ends  meet." 

When  the  young  lawyer  ventured  on  this  treacherous  ground, 
the  Provencal,  who  had  led  up  to  it,  winked  at  Dutocq,  just 
as  he  was  about  taking  his  place  at  bouillotte. 

"I  have  not  yet  had  the  pleasure  of  hearing  you  in  court," 
said  Vinet  to  M.  de  la  Peyrade. 

"  I  am  the  lawyer  of  the  poor ;  I  only  plead  before  justices 
of  the  peace,"  replied  the  Proven^l, 

When  Mile.  Thuillier  heard  the  young  barrister's  remarks 
as  to  the  necessity  of  spending  one's  whole  income,  she  took 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  89 

on  a  most  prim  and  ceremonious  look,  of  which  the  Provencal 
and  Dutocq  both  well  knew  the  significance.  Vinct  shortly 
after  took  his  leave,  taking  with  him  Minard  and  Julien. 

*'  The  higher  bourgeoisie,"  said  Dutocq  to  Thuillier,  "  will 
conduct  themselves  just  as  the  aristocracy  were  formerly  wont 
to  do.  The  nobles  wanted  girls  with  money  to  improve  their 
lands;  our  parvenus  of  to-day  want  handsome  portions  to 
feather  their  nests." 

"That  is  what  Monsieur  Thuillier  was  saying  this  morn- 
ing," replied  the  Provencal,  with  careless  mendacity. 

"His  father,"  replied  Dutocq,  "married  a  demoiselle  dc 
Chargeboeuf,  and  he  has  assumed  the  ideas  of  the  nobility  ;  he 
must  have  a  fortune  at  whatever  cost ;  his  wife  keeps  it  up  in 
royal  fashion." 

"Oh!"  said  Thuillier,  stirred  up  by  the  envy  of  the 
middle-class  against  each  other,  "  turn  such  people  out  of 
their  places,  and  down  they  go  to  the  mud  they  sprang 
from  !  " 

Mile.  Thuillier  was  so  rapidly  knitting  that  it  might  be  said 
to  have  been  a  machine  that  was  driven  by  steam. 

"Now  you  can  come  in  the  game,  Monsieur  Dutocq,"  said 
Mme.  Minard,  as  she  rose.  "  My  feet  are  cold,"  she  added, 
going  to  the  fire,  which  made  the  gold  on  her  turban  scintil- 
late like  fireworks  in  the  light  of  the  candles  in  the  hanging 
"Aurore,"  which  vainly  strove  to  illuminate  the  spacious 
salon. 

"He  is  but  a  Saint-John,*  this  suckling-barrister!"  said 
Mme.  Minard,  glancing  at  Mile.  Thuillier. 

"A  Saint-John,  say  you?"  said  the  Provencal,  "that  is 
exceedingly  witty,  madame " 

"But  madame  is  witty  at  all  times,"  said  Handsome  Thu- 
illier. 

Mme.  Colleville  was  studying  the  Provenq:al  at  this  time,  so 
it  affords  a  good  opportunity  to  describe  this  singular  person 
*  Correggio's  "  St.  John,"  at  the  breast. 


90  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

who  played  a  great  role  among  the  Thuilliers,  and  who  merits 
the  appellation  of  a  great  actor. 

There  exists  in  Provence,  particularly  at  the  port  of  Avignon, 
a  race  of  men  with  blonde  or  chestnut  hair,  of  delicate  skin 
and  almost  weak  eyes,  whose  pupils  are  rather  soft,  calm,  or 
languishing,  than  fiery,  ardent,  or  deep,  as  those  of  South- 
erners mostly  are.  It  may  be  observed,  by  the  way,  that, 
among  Corsicans,  a  people  subject  to  sudden  fits  of  fury  and 
dangerous  angers,  one  often  encounters  blondes  of  apparently 
passive  natures.  These  fair  complexioned  men,  apt  to  be 
stout,  dull  eyes,  green  or  blue,  are  the  worst  species  in  Prov- 
ence, and  Charles-Marie-Theodose  de  la  Peyrade  afforded  a 
splendid  type  of  this  race,  whose  constitution  would  amply 
repay  examination  on  the  part  of  medical  science  and  philo- 
sophical physiology.  There  is  in  their  make-up  a  species  of 
bile,  of  bitter  humor,  which  mounts  to  their  head,  rendering 
them  capable  of  ferocious  deeds,  done  apparently  in  cold 
blood. 

Born  in  the  neighborhood  of  Avignon,  the  young  Pro- 
ven9al  was  of  medium  height,  well  proportioned,  rather  stout, 
clear  but  dull  complexion,  not  livid,  not  pale,  not  florid, 
but  gelatinous,  for  that  face  can  only  be  thus  described.  His 
eyes,  coldly  blue,  generally  wore  a  deceptive  air  of  melan- 
choly, which  no  doubt  had  for  women  a  great  charm.  His 
high  forehead  did  not  lack  nobleness,  his  light  chestnut  hair, 
thin,  with  a  natural  curl  at  the  ends,  agreeably  finished  it.  His 
nose  was  exactly  that  of  a  hunting  dog — broad,  cleft  at  the 
tip,  inquisitive,  intelligent,  prying,  always  alert;  it  lacked 
good-nature,  but  showed  irony  and  sarcasm  ;  but  this  double- 
faced  nature  was  only  to  be  detected  when  he  was  off  his 
guard — a  thing  which  rarely  happened  ;  it  was  only  when  he 
was  in  a  fury  that  he  vented  the  sarcastic  wit  and  satire  which 
poisoned  his  infernal  jesting. 

His  mouth  was  prettily  shaped,  his  lips  were  red  and  like  a 
pomegranate,  seeming  to  be  the  marvelous  instrument  of  a 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  91 

voice  of  which  the  medium  tones  were  sweet,  Theodose  usually 
spoke  in  that  register,  and  the  higher  notes  of  which  vibrated 
like  the  sounds  of  a  gong.  The  falsetto  being  the  voice  of  his 
nerves  and  his  rage.  His  face,  denuded  of  expression  by  his 
command,  was  oval.  His  manner,  which  accorded  with  the 
calm,  priest-like  demeanor  of  his  face,  was  full  of  reserve  and 
propriety. 

Charm,  when  it  has  its  source  in  the  heart,  leaves  a  deep 
impression ;  when  it  is  produced  artificially,  like  spurious 
eloquence,  it  may  enjoy  a  passing  triumph ;  it  will  strive  for 
effect  at  whatever  cost. 

Among  all  maniacs  the  heart  resembles  those  boxes  with 
compartments  in  which  sugar-plums  are  arranged  in  assorted 
colors ;  suum  cuique  tribuere  is  their  device,  they  measure  each 
duty  by  the  dose.  Now  this  youth  of  seven  and  twenty  was  a 
philanthropist,  but  only  among  the  very  poor,  the  paupers  of 
the  Saint- Jacques  and  Saint-Marceau  quarters;  the  decent  poor 
of  the  middle-class,  capable  men  of  genius  on  their  uppers,  he 
would  not  grant  admittance  into  charity's  fold.  There  are 
philanthropists  who  have  only  pity  for  the  sins  of  condemned 
criminals.  Certainly  vanity  is  at  the  root  of  all  philanthropy, 
but  in  our  Provengal  it  was  calculation,  a  part  to  be  played,  a 
hypocrisy  liberal  and  democratic,  played  vnth  such  perfection 
that  no  actor  could  have  achieved.  He  acknowledged  him- 
self as  having  been  at  one  time  a  fervent  disciple  of  Saint- 
Simon,  but  this  was  an  error  only  to  be  ascribed  to  the  faults 
of  extreme  youth.  An  ardent  Catholic,  like  all  the  people  of 
his  district,  he  attended  early  mass  and  concealed  his  piety. 
He  was  like  all  philanthropists  in  that  he  was  sordidly  parsi- 
monious, he  gave  nothing  to  the  poor  but  his  time,  his  coun- 
sel, his  eloquence,  and  such  money  as  he  could  pluck  from 
the  wealthy. 

To  finish  this  portrait  of  the  Advocate  of  the  Poor,  it  may 
not  be  amiss  to  relate  his  debut  into  the  Thuillier  family. 

Theodose  had  come  toward  the  end  of  the  year  1837;  he 


92  7!!^^   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

had  been  admitted  as  an  attorney  five  years  previously,  and 
he  then  went  through  his  term  in  Paris  to  become  a  barrister ; 
but  some  unknown  circumstances,  as  to  which  he  retained 
silence,  had  prevented  him  from  being  duly  registered  as  a 
barrister  in  Paris,  and  so  he  still  remained  an  attorney. 

He  furnished  his  third  floor  as  befitted  his  profession,  and 
became  an  advocate  in  the  Assize  Court.  Tiie  whole  of  the 
year  1838  was  given  up  to  this  change  in  his  situation  \  he  led 
a  perfectly  regular  life;  he  studied  in  the  morning  till  time 
for  dinner,  sometimes  going  to  the  courts  to  listen  to  import- 
ant cases.  Having,  with  difficulty,  said  Dutocq,  made  friends 
with  Dutocq,  he  helped  some  unfortunates  in  the  faubourg 
Saint- Jacques,  whom  he  had  recommended,  by  arguing  their 
cases  before  the  tribunal ;  out  of  charity  he  obtained  them  the 
interest  of  pleaders,  who,  by  the  statutes,  take  each  their  turn 
in  defending  the  causes  of  the  impecunious ;  and  by  taking 
none  but  absolutely  sure  cases  he  gained  each  one.  He  thus 
made  a  connection  with  some  lawyers,  these  praiseworthy 
efforts  made  him  known,  and  he  soon  became  a  registered 
member  of  the  Paris  bar.  He  became  the  advocate  of  the 
poor  before  the  justices  of  the  peace,  and  was  always  the  pro- 
tector of  the  common  people.  These  services  of  Theodose's 
caused  his  clients  to  express  their  gratitude  and  admiration  in 
the  lodges  of  the  janitors,  and,  in  spite  of  the  young  advo- 
cate's injunctions,  a  good  many  of  these  traits  were  retailed 
before  their  masters.  Delighted  to  have  so  excellent  and 
charitable  a  man  as  a  tenant,  the  Thuillicrs  were  wishing  to 
attract  him  as  a  frequenter  of  their  salon ;  they  questioned 
Dutocq  about  him.  The  clerk  spoke  like  an  envious  man ; 
while  doing  the  young  man  justice,  he  said  that  his  avarice 
was  something  remarkable,  though  that  might  be  caused 
by  his  poverty. 

"  I  have  inquired  about  him.  He  belongs  to  the  family  of 
la  Peyrades,  an  old  family  of  the  county  of  Avignon  ;  he  came 
here  at  the  end  of  1829  to  look  up  an  uncle  who  possessed,  or 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  93 

was  so  supposed,  a  considerable  fortune ;  he  finally  discovered 
this  relative's  residence  three  days  after  the  death  of  the  old 
man,  and  the  sale  of  the  effects  of  the  deceased  only  just  suf- 
ficed to  pay  his  debts.  A  friend  of  this  useless  uncle  pressed 
one  hundred  louis  upon  him,  and  told  him  to  seek  his  fortune 
by  engaging  in  the  study  of  the  law,  and  to  try  for  the  higher 
walks  of  his  profession ;  this  hundred  louis  defrayed  all  his 
expenses  for  more  than  three  years  in  Paris,  where  he  fared 
like  an  anchorite ;  but,  as  he  was  unable  to  find  his  unknown 
benefactor,  the  poor  student  suffered  from  the  greatest  distress 
in  1833. 

**  He  then,  like  all  licentiates,  turned  to  politics  and  litera- 
ture, barely  able  to  support  himself;  for  his  father,  the 
youngest  brother  of  the  uncle,  who  had  died  in  the  Rue  des 
Moineaux,  has  eleven  children  living  with  him  on  a  little 
domain  called  Canquoelles.  At  length  he  got  on  the  staff  of 
a  ministerial  paper  edited  by  the  famous  Cerizet.  The  gov- 
ernment, after  this  man  left  his  own  party  to  support  them, 
did  not  prevent  his  being  ruined  by  the  Republicans.  This 
will  account  for  his  being  at  the  present  time  a  mere  copying 
clerk  under  me. 

"Well,  when  C6rizet  was  flourishing — and  who  is  a  right 
good  sort  of  a  fellow,  but  a  little  too  fond  of  the  women,  good 
cheer  and  dissipation — he  befriended  Theodose  and  was  very 
useful  to  him.  In  1834  and  1835,  he  was  again  pretty  hard 
up,  notwithstanding  his  talent,  for  his  work  on  a  ministerial 
newspaper  told  against  him.  '  Only  for  my  religious  princi- 
ples,' he  said  to  me  at  that  time,  'I  should  throw  myself  into 
the  Seine.'  But  at  last  it  seems  that  his  uncle's  friend  heard 
of  his  straitened  circumstances  and  again  came  to  his  relief; 
money  enough  was  sent  to  enable  him  to  receive  his  diploma, 
but  he  never  learned  the  name  of  his  mysterious  protector. 
But  he  will  get  on  !  He  will  secure  a  brilliant  position ;  he 
has  tenacity,  probity,  and  courage  !  He  studies — he  perse- 
veres." 


94  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Gradually  Maitre  le  Peyrade  attended  the  Thuilliers  more 
frequently  than  at  first ;  he  was  invited  to  all  their  dinners, 
and  if  at  any  time  he  called  to  see  Thuillier  about  four  o'clock 
he  would  join  their  meal,  taking  "  pot-luck."  Mile.  Thuillier 
saying : 

**  We  are  sure  then  that  he  has  dined  well,  the  poor  young 
man  !  " 

A  social  phenomenon,  which  must  certainly  have  been  ob- 
served, but  which  has  not  hitherto  been  formulated,  or  pub- 
lished, if  you  will,  although  it  deserves  being  established,  is 
that  of  a  return  to  the  habits,  jests,  and  manners  of  their 
primitive  condition  of  certain  people,  who  from  youth  to  old 
age  have  raised  themselves  above  it.  So  Thuillier  had, 
morally  speaking,  relapsed  into  the  porter's  son  ;  he  would 
use  some  of  his  father's  little  jokes,  and  at  length  permitted 
to  appear  on  the  surface  of  his  life,  in  his  declining  years,  a 
little  of  the  mud  of  his  early  days. 

About  five  or  six  times  a  month,  when  the  soup  was  good 
and  thick,  he  would  say,  like  it  was  something  quite  new : 

"  This  shin  soup  is  better  to  get  than  a  kick  on  the  shins  !  " 

Hearing  this  joke  for  the  first  time,  Theodose,  who  did  not 
know  it,  lost  his  gravity  and  laughed  with  such  heartiness 
that  Thuillier,  Handsome  Thuillier,  felt  his  vanity  immensely 
tickled,  such  as  it  had  never  been  before.  This  explains  why 
on  the  same  morning  of  the  soirde : 

"You  are  more  witty  than  you  think  !  " 

Had  received  this  answer : 

*'  In  any  other  career,  my  dear  Theodose,  I  should  have 
traveled  far  on  the  good  road,  but  the  Emperor's  fall  broke 
my  neck." 

"There  is  yet  time  for  you,"  said  the  young  advocate. 
**  Whence  comes  it  that  that  mountebank  CoUeville  has  the 
cross  ? ' ' 

There,  Maitre  de  la  Peyrade  touched  the  raw  place  that 
Thuillier  had  hidden  from  all  eyes,  even  those  of  his  sister. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  95 

who  knew  nothing  of  it ;  but  this  young  man,  interested  in 
studying  all  the  bourgeois'  traits,  had  guessed  the  secret  envy 
eating  up  the  heart  of  the  ex-sub-chief. 

**  If  you  will  so  honor  me,  you  with  all  your  experience, 
by  being  guided  by  my  counsel,"  the  philanthropist  went 
on,  "  and  more  than  all  will  never  speak  of  our  compact  with 
any  person,  not  even  your  excellent  sister,  at  least  without  my 
consent,  I  will  undertake  to  have  you  decorated  with  the 
acclamations  of  the  whole  quarter." 

**  Oh  !  if  we  could  but  accomplish  this,"  Thuillier  had  ex- 
claimed, "  you  don't  know  what  I  would  do  for  you  !  " 

This  will  explain  why  Thuillier  had  so  visibly  puffed  him- 
self out,  when  Theodose  had  been  so  audacious  as  to  proffer 
him  his  opinions. 

In  the  arts,  and  perhaps  Moli^re  ranked  hypocrisy  in  the 
arts  by  always  classing  Tartuffe  with  the  comedians,  there  exists 
a  pitch  of  perfection  above  talent  to  which  only  genius  can 
attain.  There  is  so  little  difference  between  the  work  of 
genius  and  the  work  of  talent  that  the  man  of  genius  only 
can  appraise  the  distance  which  separates  Raphael  from  Cor- 
reggio,  Titian  from  Rubens.  Plenty  of  peasant-women  carry 
their  children  the  same  way  as  the  celebrated  Madonna  of 
Dresden  carries  hers.  Eh,  well,  the  acme  of  art,  in  a  man  of 
such  strength  as  Theodose,  is  to  have  said  of  him  later :  "  All 
the  world  would  have  been  taken  in  !  " 

In  Colleville  Theodose  saw  the  clear,  critical  insight  of  an 
unsuccessful  artist.  He  knew  that  Colleville  did  not  like 
him  ;  Colleville  had  begun  to  believe  in  his  anagrams ;  none 
of  them  had  failed  as  prophecies.  As  an  employ^  he  had  been 
mocked  at  for  having  rendered  Minard's  anagram — -J^ amassai 
une  si  grande  fortune,^  or  I  amassed  such  a  large  fortune. 
Minard  was  then  very  poor,  but  after  ten  years  events  had 
justified  it.  Now  Theodose's  anagram  was  unlucky.  His 
wife's,  too,  made  him  tremble ;  he  had  never  told  it  to  any 
*  Vide  «  Les  Employfe." 


96  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

one,  for  Flavie  Minard  Colleville  gave  :  La  vieille  (7  *  ^  *, 
nom  flitri,  vole  (Old  Madame  C,  a  blighted  name,  steals). 

After  the  game  was  ended,  Colleville  drew  Thuillier  aside 
and  said  : 

"You  allowed  him  to  step  a  bit  too  far,  this  young  advo- 
cate. He  was  quite  too  forward  in  this  evening's  conversa- 
tion." 

"Thanks,  my  friend,  a  man  warned  is  twice  armed!" 
answered  Thuillier,  mocking  in  his  sleeve  at  Colleville. 

"Madame,"  said  he  in  the  ear  of  the  pious  Mme,  Colle- 
ville, for  he  could  judge  that  Colleville  was  speaking  of  him 
to  Thuillier,  "  believe  me,  that  if  any  one  here  can  appreciate 
you  it  is  myself.  One  can  only  say  on  seeing  you,  here  is  a 
pearl  fallen  in  the  mire,  for  a  woman  is  only  as  old  as  she 
seems ;  many  a  woman  of  thirty,  not  at  all  to  be  compared 
with  you,  would  only  be  too  happy  to  have  your  tall,  sublime 
figure  and  lovely  face  on  which  love  has  set  its  stamp 
without  ever  having  filled  the  void  in  your  heart.  You  have 
given  yourself  to  God,  I  know.  I  am  too  religious  to  wish 
to  be  more  than  your  friend  ;  but  you  have  given  yourself  to 
Him  for  the  reason  that  you  have  never  found  a  man  worthy 
of  you.  Certainly  you  have  been  loved,  but  you  have  never 
been  worshiped.  But  here  comes  your  husband,  who  has  never 
been  able  to  provide  a  position  for  you  in  harmony  with  your 
deserts ;  he  hates  me  because  he  imagines  that  I  should  dare 
to  love  you,  and  thinks  to  hinder  my  speaking  to  you  as  he 
suspects  that  I  may  be  about  telling  you  that  I  think  I  have 
found  a  sphere  for  you  in  which  is  your  high  destiny.  No, 
madame,"  said  he,  in  a  louder  voice,  "it  is  not  the  Abb6 
Gondrin  who  this  year  is  the  Lenten  preacher  m  our  humble 
church  of  Saint- Jacques  du  Haut-Pas ;  it  is  Monsieur  d'Esti- 
val,  one  of  my  compatriots,  who  devotes  himself  to  preaching 
in  the  benefit  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  you  will  hear  one  of 
the  most  unctuous  preachers  that  I  know,  a  priest  of  little 
attractiveness  outwardly,  but  what  a  soul !  " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  97 

"Then  my  desires  will  be  accomplished,"  said  poor  Mme, 
Thuillier;  *'I  never  could  at  all  understand  our  famous 
preachers." 

A  faint  smile  was  noticed  on  the  lips  of  Mile.  Thuillier  and 
on  those  of  several  others. 

"  They  occupy  too  much  of  their  discourse  in  theological 
demonstrations;  this  has  been  my  opinion  for  sometime," 
said  Theodose.  "  But  I  never  talk  religion,  and  only  that 
Madame  de  Colleville " 

"There  are,  then,  demonstrations  in  theology?"  queried, 
innocently,  the  professor  of  mathematics. 

"  I  cannot  think,  monsieur,"  replied  Theodose,  looking  at 
Felix  Phellion,  "  that  you  ask  that  question  seriously." 

"  Felix,"  said  old  Phellion,  coming  ponderously  to  the  help 
of  his  son,  as  he  noted  an  expression  of  pain  on  Mme.  Thuil- 
lier'sface;  "Felix  divides  religion  into  two  categories;  he 
regards  it  from  the  human  standpoint  and  from  the  divine ; 
tradition  and  reason." 

"  What  heresy,  monsieur  !  "  said  Theodose.  "  Religion  is 
one;  it  places  faith  before  all." 

Old  Phellion,  nailed  with  this  speech,  looked  at  his  wife : 

"It  is  time,  my  good  friend " 

And  he  looked  at  the  clock. 

"Oh  !  Monsieur  Felix,"  said  Cdeste,  in  a  whisper  to  the 
candid  mathematician,  "  cannot  you,  like  Pascal  and  Bossuet, 
be  at  the  same  time  wise  and  pious  ?  " 

The  Phellions  leaving,  the  Collevilles  soon  followed,  and 
none  remained  but  Dutocq,  Theodose,  and  the  Thuilliers. 

The  flatteries  addressed  by  Th6odose  to  Flavie  were  of  the 
commonest  character,  but  it  should  be  remarked  in  the  in- 
terest of  this  story  that  the  advocate  studied  these  vulgar 
spirits;  he  sailed  on  their  waters,  he  spoke  their  language. 
His  painter  was  Pierre  Grassou,  not  Joseph  Bridau ;  his  novel 
was  "  Paul  and  Virgin ie."  The  greatest  living  poet  for  him 
was  Casimir  Delavigne ;  in  his  eyes  the  mission  of  art  was  its 
7 


98  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Utility.  Parmentier,  the  author  of  the  potato,  was  to  him  worth 
twenty  Raphaels;  the  min  in  the  blue  blouse  appeared  to  him 
as  *' A  Sister  of  Charity."  These  expressions  of  Thuillier's 
he  would  at  times  repeat. 

After  further  eulogizing  religion  and  saying  that  "Science 
had  pensioned  off  God,"  and  a  few  "  Bless  me's  !  "  Theodose 
went  away,  after  bidding  good-night  to  the  three  Thuilliers, 
accompanied  by  Dutocq. 

"  That  young  man  is  full  of  strength  ?  "  said  the  sententious 
Thuillier. 

"Yes,  on  my  faith,"  replied  Brigitte,  putting  out  the 
lamps. 

"He  is  religious,"  said  Mme.  Thuillier,  being  the  first 
to  go. 

"Mosieur,"  said  Phellion  to  Colleville,  when  they  reached 
the  School  of  Mines,  and  after  he  had  looked  around  to  see 
that  no  one  could  overhear  him  ;  "I  surrender  to  the  superior 
knowledge  of  others,  yet  I  cannot  but  see  that  this  young 
advocate  plays  the  master  just  a  bit  too  much  at  the  Thuil- 
liers." 

"It's  my  private  opinion,"  said  Colleville,  who  was  walk- 
ing with  Phellion  behind  his  wife,  Celeste,  and  Mme.  Phellion, 
"  that  he  is  a  Jesuit,  and  I've  no  use  for  such — the  best  of 
them  are  no  good.  To  me,  a  Jesuit  is  craftiness;  he  cheats 
with  intent ;  it  is  a  pleasure  for  him  to  deceive,  and,  as  the 
saying  goes,  to  keep  his  hand  in.  That's  my  opinion,  and 
there  are  no  flies  on  it." 

"I  understand  you,  mosieur,"  replied  Phellion,  who  had 
given  his  arm  to  Colleville. 

"No,  Monsieur  Phellion,"  remarked  Flavie,  in  a  high, 
head  voice,  "  you  don't  understand  Colleville ;  but  I  well 
know  his  meaning,  and  it  would  be  best  for  him  to  say  no 
more." 

"You  are  quite  right,  my  wife,"  said  Colleville. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  99 

As  they  bade  each  other  good-night,  at  the  corner  of  the 
Rue  Deux-!figlises,  F6lix  said  to  Colleville : 

"Monsieur,  your  son  Frangois  could,  by  being  pushed, 
enter  the  Ecole  Polytechnique ;  I  offer  to  assist  him  in  pass- 
ing the  examination  this  year." 

"That  is  too  good  to  refuse  !  thank  you,  my  friend,"  said 
Colleville;  "we  will  attend  to  it." 

"  Good  !  "  said  Phellion  to  his  son. 

"  There  is  nothing  slow  about  that !  "  exclaimed  his  mother. 

"  Why,  what  is  there  in  it  ?  "  asked  Felix. 

"  That  is  a  clever  method  of  paying  court  to  the  parents  of 
Celeste." 

"  May  I  never  solve  my  problems  if  I  ever  gave  it  such  a 
thought,"  exclaimed  the  young  professor.  "  I  found,  by  talk- 
ing to  the  young  Colleville,  that  Frangois  had  a  vocation  for 
mathematics,  so  I  thought  it  only  my  duty  to  so  inform  his 
father " 

"  Good,  my  son  !  "  repeated  Phellion.  "  I  would  not  have 
you  otherwise.  My  wishes  are  granted;  in  my  son  I  find 
probity,  honor,  and  every  public  and  private  virtue  I  can 
desire." 

After  Mme.  Colleville  had  gone  to  bed,  she  said  to  her 
husband : 

"  Colleville,  don't  be  so  ready  to  crudely  pronounce  judg- 
ment on  people  unless  you  know  them  thoroughly.  When 
you  speak  of  Jesuits  I  know  you  are  thinking  of  priests,  and  to 
oblige  me  I  must  beg  you  to  be  more  careful  in  expressing 
your  opinions  on  religion  in  the  presence  of  your  daughter. 
We  are  our  own  masters  in  respect  to  sacrificing  our  own  souls, 
but  not  those  of  our  children.  Do  you  wish  to  see  your 
daughter  a  creature  without  religion  ?  Beside,  my  ducky,  we 
are  at  the  mercy  of  the  world,  we  have  four  children  for  whom 
to  provide,  can  you  say  that  at  some  time  or  other  you  may 
not  need  the  help  of  this  one  or  that  one?  Do  not  make 
enemies ;  you  have  none ;  you  are  a  good  fellow,  and  thanks 


100  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

to  that  quality,  which  is  so  charming  in  you,  we  have  got 
along  in  life  pretty  smoothly  thus  far " 

"There,  that  will  do!"  said  Colleville,  who  had  thrown 
his  coat  over  a  chair  and  was  now  removing  his  cravat ;  "  I 
was  wrong,  you  were  right,  my  beautiful  Flavie." 

"At  the  first  chance,  my  burly  lamb,"  said  the  cunning 
prattler,  patting  her  husband's  cheeks,  "do  the  civil  to  that 
little  advocate ;  he  is  pretty  fly ;  we  need  him  on  our  side. 
He  is  playing  a  part,  eh  ?  Well,  play  the  comedy  with  him  \ 
be  his  apparent  dupe,  and,  if  he  is  smart,  if  he  has  a  future, 
make  him  your  friend.  Think  you  that  I  want  to  see  you  for- 
ever the  mayor  of  an  arrondissement  ?  " 

"Come,  here,  wife  Colleville,"  said  the  smiling  ex-clarionet 
of  the  Opera-Comique,  tapping  on  his  knees  as  a  sign  for  his 
wife  to  perch  thereon,  "  let  us  toast  our  tootseys  and  chat. 
When  I  look  at  you  I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  of  this 
truth,  that  the  youth  of  women  is  in  their  figure " 

"  And  in  their  hearts " 

"In  both,"  answered  Colleville;  "a  light  figure  and  a 
.heavy  heart " 

"No,  big  silly — deep." 

"  What  is  so  nice  about  you  is  that  you  have  preserved  your 
fresh  complexion  without  growing  fat !  But,  there — you  have 
small  bones.  I  tell  you  what,  Flavie,  if  I  had  to  begin  life 
over  again  I  should  not  wish  for  any  other  wife  than  thee." 

"And  you  know  very  well  that  I  always  liked  you  better 
than  the  others.  How  unfortunate  that  monseigneur  is  dead  ! 
Do  you  know  what  I  should  like?" 

"No." 

"  A  job  under  the  city,  a  place  at  about  twelve  thousand 
francs,  something  like  a  cashier's,  either  in  this  municipality 
or  at  Poissy,  or  as  agent." 

"  Either  would  suit  me." 

"Well,  then,  if  that  monster  of  an  advocate  could  do 
something;  he  can  intrigue,  you  bet.     I'll  sound  him — ^just 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  101 

leave  him  to  me — and  more  than  all  else,  don't  buck  against 
his  game  at  the  Thuilliers." 

Theodose  had  touched  the  sore  spot  in  Flavie  Colleville's 
heart,  and  this  deserves  an  explanation  which  may,  perhaps, 
give  a  synthetic  touch  on  the  lives  of  women. 

At  forty  years  of  age,  a  woman,  particularly  if  she  has 
tasted  the  poisoned  apple  of  passion,  becomes  aware  of  a 
solemn  dread ;  she  perceives  that  two  deaths  are  hers ;  the 
death  of  the  body  and  the  death  of  the  heart.  Dividing 
women  into  two  great  categories  which  answer  to  the  com- 
mon idea  of  them,  the  so-called  virtuous  and  the  culpables,  it 
is  permissible  to  say,  that  all  alike,  after  that  terrible  time  of 
life,  resent  the  anguish  of  that  acute  pain.  If  virtuous  and 
defrauded  in  their  nature's  cravings,  be  it  borne  with  courage 
or  resignation,  whether  they  have  buried  their  revolt  in  their 
hearts  or  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  they  cannot  say,  without 
some  feeling  of  horror,  that:  "all  is  over  for  me."  This 
thought  has  such  strange  and  infernal  depths  that  we  very 
often  find  in  it  the  cause  of  those  apostasies  which  now  and 
again  surprise  and  astonish  the  world. 

The  culpables — they  are  in  one  of  those  dizzy  positions 
which  frequently,  alas,  end  in  death  or  terminate  in  passions 
as  tremendous  as  the  situation.  Either  she  has  been  happy  in 
an  atmosphere  of  incense,  moving  only  in  the  flowery  air  of 
flatteries  which  is  one  long  caress,  so  how  can  she  renounce  it? 
Or,  a  phenomenon  more  fantastic  than  rare,  she  is  spurred  to 
her  play  like  a  gambler  making  a  double  or  quit  throw, 
for,  to  her,  the  last  days  of  her  beauty  are  the  last  things 
that  she  risks  on  the  cards  of  despair. 

"You  have  been  loved,  but  never  worshiped  !  " 

These  word  of  Theodose,  accompanied  by  a  look  which 
read,  not  in  her  heart,  but  in  her  life,  was  the  missing  word 
of  an  -nigma,  and  Flavie  felt  herself  divined. 

A  young  officer,  two  dudes,  a  banker,  a  clumsy  little  young 
man,  and   the   poor   Colleville,   this  was  a  grievous   outfit. 


.102  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Once  in  her  life  Madame  Colleville  had  dreamed  of  happiness, 
but  she  had  never  felt  it ;  then  death  had  hatefully  broken  off 
the  only  passion  in  which  Flavie  had  found  any  real  charm. 
For  two  years  she  had  listened  to  the  voice  of  religion,  which 
had  told  her  that  neither  the  church  nor  society  speaks  of 
happiness,  of  love,  but  of  duty  and  resignation  ;  that,  in  the 
eyes  of  these  two  great  powers,  happiness  lies  in  the  satisfac- 
tion arising  from  painful  or  costly  duties,  and  that  the  reward 
is  not  of  this  world.  But  she  heard  a  more  clamorous  voice, 
so,  as  her  religion  was  but  a  necessary  mask,  not  a  conversion, 
and  as  she  dared  not  remove  it,  for  she  looked  upon  it  as  a 
resource  for  the  future,  she  hung  on  to  the  church,  the  same 
as  a  man  at  the  cross-roads  in  a  forest,  seated  on  a  bank, 
reading  the  guide-posts  of  the  road,  but  trusting  to  chance  as 
to  what  might  happen  when  the  night  came. 

She  knew  that  Theodose  had  surreptitiously  watched  her ; 
she  had  dressed  at  him,  wearing  at  times  her  dress  of  gray 
moire,  her  black  lace,  and  her  headdress  of  flowers  twisted  in 
her  mechlin,  making  the  most  of  herself,  and  he  had  known 
it — every  man  does  when  a  woman  dresses  for  him. 

Flavie  had  been  expecting,  Sunday  after  Sunday,  that  Theo- 
dose would  make  a  declaration.     She  said  to  herself: 

**  He  knows  I  am  ruined  and  he  has  not  a  sou  !  Perhaps, 
though,  he  is  really  pious  !  " 

Theodose  had  no  desire  to  hurry  matters,  and,  like  a  com- 
petent musician,  he  had  marked  the  place  in  the  symphony 
where  he  meant  to  give  the  thump  on  the  big  drum.  As  he 
went  to  bed  he  reflected  : 

"The  wife  is  on  my  side;  the  husband  cannot  suffer  me; 
just  now  they  are  quarreling,  and  I  shall  come  out  on  top,  for 
she  can  do  as  she  wills  with  her  husband." 

The  Provengal  was  mistaken,  as  there  had  not  been  the  least 
dispute,  and  Colleville  slept  beside  his  dear  Flavie  while  she 
said  to  herself: 

**Th6odose  is  a  superior  man.** 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES,  103 

The  following  Sunday  he  was  almost  certain  to  find  Mad- 
ame CoUeville  at  church ;  in  fact,  they  came  out  at  the  same 
time,  meeting  on  the  Rue  des  Deux-Eglises.  Theodose  of- 
fered Flavie  his  arm,  which  she  accepted,  telling  her  daughter 
to  walk  on  in  front  with  her  brother  Anatole. 

"  Have  you  done  me  the  honor  and  favor  of  thinking  over 
what  I  so  clumsily  said  the  other  day?"  asked  the  wheedling 
advocate  of  the  pretty  devotee  as  he  pressed  her  arm  to  his 
heart  with  a  movement  at  once  gentle  and  firm,  for  he  pre- 
tended to  dissemble  his  feelings  and  appear  respectful  against 
his  impulse.  "  Do  not  mistake  my  intentions,"  he  continued, 
receiving  a  look  from  Madame  CoUeville — one  of  those 
glances  with  which  women  who  have  tasted  and  practiced 
passion  can  express  either  severe  reproof  or  a  secret  commun- 
ity of  sentiment. 

Then  he  told  her  how  Christian  charity  embraces  the  strong 
equally  with  the  weak,  that  its  treasures  are  for  all.  That  it 
was  sad  to  see  so  refined,  elegant,  and  graceful  a  woman  in 
such  dire  surroundings,  adding  : 

"Oh,  if  only  I  were  wealthy.  Ah,  if  I  had  but  power, 
your  husband,  who  is  certainly  a  good  devil,  should  become 
a  receiver-general,  and  you  could  make  him  a  deputy. 

"  But  I  am  poor  and  ambitious,  my  first  duty  is  to  crush 
my  ambition.  I  find  myself  at  the  bottom  of  the  bag  like  the 
last  number  in  a  lottery ;  I  can  only  offer  my  arm  where  I 
fain  would  give  my  heart.  All  my  hopes  rest  on  a  good  mar- 
riage, and,  believe  me,  I  should  make  my  wife's  lot  a  happy 
one ;  not  only  that,  but  I  should  raise  her  to  be  one  of  the 
first  in  the  State  if  only  she  finds  me  the  means  for  my  ad- 
vancement. It  is  a  lovely  day,  come  for  a  stroll  in  the 
Luxembourg?" 

The  listless  arm  held  in  his  own  indicated  a  tacit  consent, 
and,  as  she  deserved  the  honor  of  a  species  of  violence,  he 
dragged  her  more  rapidly  along,  adding : 

**  Come  along,  we  shall  never  have  such  an  excellent  oppor- 


104  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

tunity.  Oh  !  "  he  cried,  "your  husband  sees  usj  he  is  at  the 
window;  walk  more  slowly." 

"There  is  nothing  to  fear  from  Monsieur  Colleville,"  said 
Flavie,  smiling.  "He  leaves  me  the  absolute  mistress  of  my 
actions." 

"Oh!  here  is  the  woman  of  whom  I  have  dreamed!" 
exclaimed  the  Provencal,  with  that-  ecstasy  and  accent  ema- 
nating only  from  the  souls  and  spoken  by  the  lips  of  South- 
erners. 

"Pardon  me,  madame,"  said  he,  checking  himself  and  re- 
turning from  that  lofty  sphere  to  the  exiled  angel  whom  he 
piously  regarded.      "Excuse  me!    to  return   to  what  I  was 

saying Ah  !   how  can   I  be  otherwise  than  sensible  of 

the  sorrows  I  myself  experience  when  I  sec  the  lot  of  a  being 
to  whom  life  should  only  bring  joy  and  happiness?  Your 
•sufferings  are  mine ;  I  am  no  more  in  my  right  place  than 
you  are  in  yours.  Ah  !  dear  Flavie,  the  first  time  it  was 
granted  me  to  see  you  was  on  the  last  Sunday  in  the  month 
of  September,  1838.  You  were  lovely;  I  shall  often  recall 
you  in  that  little  dress  of  inousseline  de  laine,  colored  like  the 
tartan  of  some  Scottish  clan.  On  that  day  I  said  to  myself: 
*  Why  is  this  woman  at  the  home  of  the  Thuilliers,  and 
why,  above  all,  should  she  ever  have  had  relations  with  a 
Thuillier?'" 

"  Monsieur  !  "  said  Flavie,  startled  at  the  rapid  flow  which 
the  Provencal  gave  to  the  conversation. 

"Oh  !  I  know  all,"  cried  he,  with  an  expressive  shrug  of 
the  shoulder,  "and  can  explain  everything  to  myself;  I  do 
not  esteem  you  the  less.  There  !  these  are  not  the  faults  of 
an  ugly  or  humpbacked  woman.  You  have  to  gather  the  fruit 
of  your  error,  and  I  will  help  you.  Celeste  will  be  very  rich 
—and  there  is  where  your  future  prospects  must  be  found ;  you 
cannot  have  more  than  one  son-in-law,  so  choose  him  with 
care.  An  ambitious  man  may  become  a  minister,  but  you 
become  humiliated ;  he  would  annoy  you,   and   make   your 


EH,    WELL,    YES,    I    LOVE    YOU."    SAID    HE. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  105 

daughter  unhappy ;  and,  if  he  loses  her  fortune,  he  will  cer- 
tainly never  re-make  it.  Eh,  well,  yes,  I  love  you,"  said  he; 
"  and  I  love  you  with  an  affection  without  bounds ;  you  are 
above  a  crowd  of  petty  considerations  that  bind  simpletons. 
We  understand  each  other " 

Flavie  was  simply  astounded  ;  nevertheless,  she  was  sensible 
of  the  excessive  frankness  of  speech;  she  said  to  herself: 
"  There  is  no  mystery  in  such  talk  as  this."  But  she  was  fain 
to  acknowledge  that  never  before  had  she  been  so  deeply 
moved  and  agitated  as  by  this  young  man. 

"  Monsieur,  I  don't  know  by  whom  you  have  been  misled 
in  regard  to  my  past  life,  and  by  what  right  you " 

"Ah!  pardon  me,  madame,"  interrupted  the  Provcngal, 
with  a  frigidity  bordering  on  scorn  ;  "  I  have  been  dreaming  ! 
I  said  to  myself:  *  She  is  all  that ; '  but  I  was  deceived.  I  now 
know  why  you  will  always  remain  aloft  on  the  fourth  floor  in 
the  Rue  d'Enfer." 

A  gesture  of  the  arm  toward  the  window  at  which  Colleville 
stood  emphasized  this  retort. 

"  I  have  been  frank,  I  expected  reciprocity.  Many  a  day 
I  have  gone  without  bread,  madame ;  I  managed  to  live, 
studied,  obtained  the  grade  of  licentiate  in  Paris,  my  whole 
capital  being  two  thousand  francs ;  and  I  came  through  the 
barri6re  d'ltalie  with  five  hundred  francs  in  my  pocket,  vow- 
ing, like  one  of  my  compatriots,  that  some  day  I  would  be- 
come the  leading  man  in  my  country.  And  the  man  who  has 
often  rifled  his  breakfast  out  the  restaurateurs'  baskets  into 
which  his  leavings  were  thrown,  and  which  are  emptied  out- 
doors at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  the  second-hand 
eating-houses  can  find  nothing  more  fit  to  take — that  man  will 
not  shrink  from  any  available  chance.  Eh,  now !  do  you 
believe  me  the  friend  of  the  people?"  said  he,  smiling; 
**  fame  needs  a  loud  voice  ;  she  cannot  be  heard  speaking  with 
half-closed  lips ;  and  without  renown,  what  is  the  use  of  talent? 
Say,  now,  have  I  not  opened  all  before  you  ?   Open  your  heart 


106  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

to  me.  Say  to  me  :  '  We  are  friends,'  and  we  shall  all  some 
day  be  happy." 

"My  God!  why  did  I  come  herewith  you?  Why  did  I 
take  your  arm  ?  "  cried  Flavie. 

"Because  it  is  your  destiny  !  "  replied  he.  "Eh,  my  dear 
and  best-loved  Flavie,"  added  he,  pressing  her  arm  to  his 
heart ;  "you  did  not  expect  commonplaces  from  me,  did  you? 
We  are  brother  and  sister — that  is  all." 

And  they  turned  toward  the  Rue  d'Enfer. 

Flavie  experienced  a  great  fear  beneath  the  satisfaction  that 
a  woman  finds  in  violent  emotions,  she  wrongly  imagined  this 
dread  for  a  new  passion  beginning ;  but  she  was  under  a  spell 
and  walked  along  in  deep  silence. 

"Of  what  are  you  thinking?"  he  asked^  when  half-way 
along  the  path. 

"  Of  all  that  you  brought  me  here  to  say,"  she  replied. 

"But,"  he  answered,  "at  our  age,  we  skip  the  prelim- 
inaries; we  are  not  children,  and  we  both  live  in  a  sphere  in 
which  we  should  understand  each  other.  In  short,  believe 
me,"  he  added,  as  they  turned  into  the  Rue  d'Enfer,  "I  am 
wholly  yours,"  and  he  made  a  profound  salutation. 

"The  irons  arc  in  the  fire  !  "  said  he  to  himself,  as  his  eye 
followed  his  giddy  prey. 

On  returning  to  his  home,  Th6odose  found  on  his  landing 
a  person  who  in  this  story  figures  somewhat  as  a  sub-marine, 
or  otherwise  like  unto  a  buried  church  upon  which  has  been 
erected  the  front  of  a  palace. 

The  sight  of  this  man,  who  had  vainly  pulled  his  door-bell, 
startled  the  Provencal,  but  he  did  not  betray  his  hidden 
emotion.     This  man  was  C^rizet,  Dutocq's  copying-clerk. 

C^rizet,  only  eight  and  thirty,  looked  like  a  man  of  fifty, 
who  has  become  old  by  all  that  ages  a  man.  His  bald  head 
offered  to  view  a  yellow  skull  barely  covered  by  a  rusty,  dis- 
colored wig;  his  face,  pale,  flaccid,  irregularly  chiseled  and 
harsh,  seeming  all  the  more  ugly  by  a  much-disfigured  nose, 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  107 

but  not  so  badly  so  as  to  necessitate  his  wearing  a  false  one ; 
from  the  bridge  at  the  forehead  to  the  nostrils  it  existed  as 
nature  had  made  it,  but  disease  had  destroyed  its  wings 
toward  the  end,  leaving  two  holes  of  fantastic  appearance, 
thickening  his  pronunciation  and  impeding  his  speech.  His 
eyes,  formerly  fine,  but  now  weakened  by  every  manner  of 
vice  and  wear,  by  nights  formerly  given  to  work ;  they  had 
become  trimmed  with  red  and  gave  a  damaged  appearance ; 
his  look,  when  stirred  by  an  expression  of  malice,  had  fright- 
ened both  judges  and  criminals,  even  those  who  are  afraid  of 
nothing. 

His  denuded  mouth,  apparently  only  containing  a  few 
blackened  stumps  of  teeth,  was  sinister ;  it  was  frothy  with  a 
white  saliva  which  did  not,  however,  moisten  his  thin,  pallid 
lips. 

Cerizet,  a  little  man,  less  lean  than  shrunken,  endeavored 
to  correct  the  misfortunes  to  his  person  by  his  apparel,  and, 
if  his  dress  was  not  magnificent,  it  was  at  least  scrupulously 
clean,  which,  perhaps,  only  intensified  its  wretchedness. 
Everything  about  him  seemed  doubtful — his  age,  his  nose, 
his  looks.  It  was  impossible  to  say  whether  he  was  eight  and 
thirty  or  sixty ;  whether  his  faded  blue  trousers,  neatly  strapped, 
would  presently  be  in  fashion  or  dated  from  the  year  1835. 
His  limp  boots,  carefully  blacked,  resoled  for  the  third  time, 
had  most  likely  trodden  the  carpets  of  ministers'  offices.  His 
overcoat,  trimmed  with  heavy  braid,  drenched  by  the  rains, 
with  oval  buttons  that  indiscreetly  displayed  their  moulds, 
showed  by  its  cut  that  it  had  once  been  elegant.  His  collar 
and  satin  tie  happily  hid  his  lack  of  linen,  but  at  the  back  the 
teeth  of  the  buckle  had  frayed  it,  and  the  satin  shone  with 
the  friction  and  grease  of  his  wig.  In  the  days  of  its  youth 
his  vest  had  not  been  wanting  in  smartness,  but  it  was  one  of 
those  vests  which  are  to  be  purchased  for  four  francs  out  of 
the  depths  of  a  ready-made  tailor-shop.  Each  article  had 
been  carefully  brushed,   including  the  bruised  and  shining 


108  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

stovepipe  hat.  Everything  harmonized  and  matched  the 
black  gloves  which  hid  the  hands  of  this  Mephistopheles. 

He  was  an  artist  in  evil.  Becoming  the  owner  of  a  printing 
business  by  acting  treacherously  to  his  master,  he  afterward 
figured  as  the  publisher  of  a  liberal  newspaper ;  there  he  be- 
came the  pet  victim  of  the  Royalist  ministers  after  the  Resto- 
ration, being  known  as  the  ''unfortunate  "  Cerizet.  In  1830 
his  patriotic  renown  gained  him  a  sub-prefecture,  whence  he 
was  ousted  after  six  months ;  he  raised  such  a  hullabaloo  about 
it,  saying  he  had  been  condemned  unheard,  that  Casimir 
Perier's  ministry  made  him  the  editor  of  an  anti-Republican 
paper  in  the  pay  of  the  government.  Afterward  he  went  into 
business  and  was  mixed  up  in  one  of  the  most  disastrous 
joint-stock  companies  that  ever  called  for  criminal  prosecution  ; 
quite  serenely  he  accepted  his  severe  sentence,  blaming  the 
Republicans  for  it.  His  term  of  imprisonment  was  passed  in 
a  lunatic  asylum.  The  government  cast  him  off;  they  were 
ashamed  of  a  man  with  such  a  disgraceful  swindling  record, 
done  in  combination  with  a  retired  banker  named  Claparon, 
and  which  brought  him  down  to  a  well-deserved  reprobation. 
In  the  depths  of  his  misery  this  man  dreamed  of  revenge, 
and,  as  he  had  nothing  to  lose,  he  was  ready  for  anything 
that  might  encompass  it.  Dutocq  and  himself  were  as  one  in 
their  habitual  depravity.  Cerizet  was  to  Dutocq  what  the 
greyhound  is  to  the  courser. 

Cirizet,  who  knew  all  that  misfortune  can  bring,  lent 
money  in  trifling  loans  on  short  time  at  ruinous  interest ;  he 
had  commenced  as  Dutocq's  partner,  and  this  old  gutter-snipe 
had  become  the  street-hawker's  banker;  this  push-cart  huck- 
ster's bill-discounter  was  the  gnawing  worm  of  two  faubourgs. 

When  the  advocate  of  the  poor  arrived,  he  let  into  his 
apartments  Cerizet  and  Dutocq.  All  three  crossed  a  small 
room  paved  in  red  encaustic  tiles,  which  by  their  waxed  sur- 
face reflected  the  daylight  entering  through  two  cotton  cur- 
tains.    From  it  they  went  into  a  little  sitting-room  furnished 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  109 

with  red  curtains,  a  mahogany  suite,  covered  with  red  Utrecht 
velvet ;  on  a  wall  was  a  bookcase  filled  with  law  books.  The 
mantel  was  ornamented  with  vulgar  gewgaws,  a  clock  with 
four  mahogany  columns,  and  candlesticks  under  glass-shades. 
The  study,  where,  in  front  of  a  coal-fire,  the  three  friends 
seated  themselves,  was  that  of  a  sucking-calf  of  the  law  ;  it  was 
furnished  with  an  office  desk,  an  armchair,  little,  green  silk 
curtains  at  the  windows,  a  green  carpet,  a  set  of  pigeon-holes, 
and  a  couch,  over  which  hung  an  ivory  crucifix  mounted  in 
velvet.  The  bedroom,  kitchen,  and  the  rest  of  the  rooms 
overlooked  the  courtyard. 

"Well,"  said  Cerizet,  "how  goes  it?  Is  everything  on 
the  go?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Th6odose. 

"Confess  that  I  had  a  bright  idea,  eh?"  cried  Dutocq, 
"  when  I  thought  up  a  scheme  to  get  round  that  imbecile  of 
aThuillier " 

"  Yes,  but  I'm  not  behindhand,"  exclaimed  Cirizet.  "I 
have  come  this  morning  to  give  you  the  cord  for  tying  the 
thumbs  of  the  old  maid  so  as  to  make  her  spin  like  a  teetotum. 
Don't  make  any  mistake  !  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  is  everything 
in  this  matter  ;  only  get  over  her  and  you  have  captured  the 
town.  Talk  little,  but  talk  well,  like  people  who  know  their 
business.  My  old  associate,  Claparon,  you  know,  is  an  idiot ; 
he  will  always  remain  what  he  has  always  been — a  mere 
stalking-horse.  Just  now  his  name  is  being  used  by  a  notary 
of  Paris  in  association  with  some  builders,  who,  builders  and 
notary,  are  all  going  to  the  dogs  !  Claparon  is  the  scapegoat, 
he  has  not  yet  been  a  bankrupt,  but  every  one  must  have  a 
beginning,  and,  at  this  very  moment,  he  is  hiding  in  my  den 
at  the  Rue  des  Poules,  where  he  will  never  be  discovered. 
My  Claparon  is  furious,  he  hasn't  got  a  sou ;  and  among  the 
five  or  six  houses  which  have  to  be  sold,  one  is  a  perfect  gem  of 
a  house,  built  of  squared  stone  and  right  near  the  Madeleine — 
it  has  a  front  patterned  like  a  melon  and  ravishing  sculpture— 


110  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

but,  not  being  finished,  it  might  be  given  for  at  most  one  hun- 
dred thousand  francs ;  by  spending  twenty-five  thousand  francs 
on  it,  the  buyer  in  two  years  could  make  ten  thousand  francs 
per  annum.  In  helping  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  to  secure  this, 
you  can  gain  her  esteem,  for  you  can  give  her  to  understand 
that  such  can  be  picked  up  through  you  every  year.  Vanity 
can  be  worked  by  flattering  its  self-conceit ;  money-grubbers 
either  by  an  attack  on  or  replenishing  their  purses.  And  as, 
after  all,  working  for  Thuillier  is  working  for  ourselves,  it  is 
only  fair  to  let  her  profit  by  this  lucky  stroke." 

"And  the  notary,"  said  Dutocq,  "why  does  he  let  it 
slip?" 

**  The  notary,  my  poor  boy  ?  It  is  he  who  saves  us.  Being 
compelled  to  see  his  connection  in  fact  ruined,  he  is  reserving 
this  part  of  the  crumbs  of  his  cake.  Believing  in  the  honesty 
of  that  imbecile  Claparon,  he  has  instructed  him  to  find  a 
nominal  purchaser ;  for  he  looks  equally  for  prudence  and 
confidence.  We  just  allow  him  to  think  that  Mademoiselle 
Thuillier  is  an  honest  maiden  lady,  who  gives  tiie  use  of  her 
name  to  poor  Claparon,  and  then  both  Claparon  and  the 
notary  will  be  caught.  I  owe  this  little  turn  to  my  good 
friend  Claparon  for  letting  me  in  to  bear  the  brunt  of  the 
matter  in  his  stock  concern,  which  was  smashed  by  Couture, 
in  whose  skin  you  would  hate  to  find  yourselves!  "  said  he, 
with  a  flash  of  infernal  hatred  in  his  dull,  fishy  eyes.  "  I  have 
said,  monseigneurs  !  "  added  he  in  a  rough  voice,  which 
passed  loud  through  his  nose-holes,  and  assuming  a  dramatic 
pose,  for  once,  at  a  time  of  extreme  poverty,  he  had  been  an 
actor. 

As  he  finished  the  door-bell  rang,  and  la  Peyrade  went  to 
open  the  door. 

"  Are  you  altogether  sure  of  him  ?  "  said  Cerizet  to  Dutocq. 
"I  detect  a  manner  about  him — in  short,  I  have  known 
traitors." 

**He  is  completely  in  our  hands,"  said  Dutocq;  "so    I 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  Ill 

haven't  given  myself  the  trouble  of  watching  him ;  but,  be- 
tween ourselves,  I  did  not  think  him  so  smart  as  he  is.  We 
had  an  idea  that  we  had  placed  a  sorrel  horse  between  the 
legs  of  a  man  who  didn't  know  how  to  ride,  and  the  lubber 
is  an  old  jockey  !     And  there  you  are  !  " 

"  He  had  better  lookout !  "  said  Cirizet,  in  an  undertone. 
**  I  can  puff  him  over  like  a  castle  of  cards.  As  to  you, 
Daddy  Dutocq,  you  can  watch  him  at  work  and  see  him  at 
every  moment ;  just  keep  him  under  surveillance.  I'll  feel 
his  pulse,  too;  I'll  get  Claparon  to  employ  him  to  get  rid  of 
us ;  then  we  can  judge  where  we  stand." 

**  That's  a  good  scheme,"  said  Dutocq  ;  "  your  eyes  are  as 
good  as  most  folks." 

**  We  are  all  in  the  same  boat ;  that's  all  there  is  to  it !  " 
replied  C6rizet. 

When  the  advocate  reappeared  Cdrizet  was  examining  all  in 
the  study. 

"It  is  Thuillier,"  said  Thdodose.  "  I  expected  him  call- 
ing. He  is  in  the  salon.  It  won't  do  for  him  to  see  C^ri- 
zet's  overcoat,"  added  he,  smiling;  *•  the  frogs  on  it  would 
startle  him," 

**  Bah  !  you  rescue  the  unfortunate,  that  is  your  part  in  the 
play.  Do  you  need  some  money?"  asked  Cerizet,  and 
brought  out  one  hundred  francs  from  his  trousers'  pocket. 
**  There,  see,  that  looks  well ;  "  and  he  placed  the  pile  on  the 
mantel-shelf. 

"  We  shall  be  able  to  get  out  through  the  bedroom,"  said 
Dutocq. 

"Well,  then,  adieu,"  said  the  Provencal,  as  he  opened  the 
door  for  them  leading  from  the  office  to  the  bedroom. 
"  Come  in,  my  dear  Monsieur  Thuillier,"  he  called  out  to  the 
dude  of  the  Empire. 

When  he  saw  that  he  had  reached  the  door  of  his  office, 
and  could  no  longer  see  on  to  the  landing,  he  went  to  let  out 
his  two  associates  by  the  other  way. 


112  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

''  In  six  months  you  should  by  rights  be  the  husband  of 
Celeste,  and  doing  well.  You're  a  lucky  dog ;  you  haven't 
found  yourself  in  the  police  dock  twice,  as  I  have — the  first 
time  in  1825  under  a  constructive  process,  or  treason,  follow- 
ing a  series  of  articles  that  I  never  wrote  ;  and  the  second  time 
for  appropriating  the  profits  of  a  concern  that  didn't  pan 
out !  Now  set  the  pot  a-boiling  ;  by  a  paper-sack  !  Dutocq 
and  myself  need  that  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  each  of  us, 
as  soon  as  may  be;  be  of  good  courage,  my  friend,"  added 
he,  proffering  his  hand  to  Theodose,  and  proving  him  by  his 

grip- 

The  Provencal  gave  his  right  hand  and  wrung  his  with 

much  unction. 

"  My  dear  boy,  you  may  be  well  assured  that  in  every  posi- 
tion I  attain  I  shall  not  forget  that  from  which  you  rescued 
me  by  placing  me  on  horseback  here.  I  am  your  bait,  but 
you  give  me  the  greater  portion,  and  I  should  be  worse  than 
a  convict  who  has  become  a  police-spy  if  I  did  not  play  a 
square  game." 

Cerizet,  as  soon  as  the  door  was  closed  upon  him,  peered 
through  the  key-hole  to  try  and  catch  the  expression  on  the 
other's  face,  but  the  lawyer  had  turned  his  back  and  went  to 
join  Thuillier,  so  his  suspicious  ally  could  not  detect  aught, 

Thdodose,  though,  saw  a  multiplying  chance  of  success ;  he 
flattered  himself  that  he  could  get  rid  of  his  sordid  friends, 
although  all  he  had  he  owed  to  them. 

*'WeIl,  my  dear  Theodose,"  said  Thuillier,  "we  have 
been  hoping  to  see  you  each  day  since  Sunday,  but  each  even- 
ing has  seen  our  hopes  delayed.  As  this  Simday  is  our 
dinner-day,  my  sister  and  wife  charged  me  to  bid  you 
come " 

"  I  have  had  so  much  business,"  said  Theodose,  "  that  I 
have  not  had  two  minutes  to  give  to  a  soul,  not  even  you, 
whom  I  count  in  the  number  of  my  friends,  and  with  whom  I 
have  particularly  wished  to  speak." 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.    '  113 

"How!  You  seriously  think  of  that  you  told  me?"  ex- 
claimed Thuillier,  interrupting  Theodose. 

"  If  you  hadn't  called  to  clinch  the  business,  I  should  not 
esteem  you  as  I  do,"  said  Theodose,  smiling.  "You  have 
been  a  sub-chief ;  therefore  you  must  have  more  or  less  ambi- 
tion, and  in  you  it  is  legitimate,  or  the  deuce  is  in  it.  See, 
now  !  between  you  and  me,  when  we  see  a  Minard,  a  gilded 
blockhead,  complimented  by  the  King  and  doing  the  swagger- 
act  in  the  Tuileries  ;  a  Popinot  in  the  track  of  becoming  a 
minister — and  you,  a  man  inured  into  the  work  of  the  ad- 
ministration, a  man  who  has  had  thirty  years'  experience,  who 
has  seen  six  governments,  left  to  transplant  his  balsam  seed- 
lings !  What  then  ?  I  am  frank,  my  dear  Thuillier,  I  want 
to  give  you  a  push,  because  you  will  pull  me  after  you. 

"Well,  then,  here  is  my  plan.  We  have  to  name  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Municipal  Council  for  this  arrondissement,  and 
that  man  must  be  you  ! — and,"  said  he,  emphasizing  the 
word — "  must  be  ycm  I  Some  day  you  will  most  assuredly 
be  the  deputy  from  the  arrondissement,  when  we  reelect  the 
Chamber — it's  not  far  off.  The  voices  which  nominate  you  for 
the  Municipal  Council  will  be  there  when  the  time  for  elect- 
ing a  deputy  comes ;  y-ou  leave  it  to  me." 

"But  what  means  have  you?"  exclaimed  Thuillier.  fasci- 
nated. 

"You  shall  know,  but  leave  me  alone  to  manage  this  long 
and  difficult  business ;  if  you  commit  any  indiscretion  on  what 
we  have  said  as  to  our  plans  or  the  arrangements  between 
us,  I  leave  you  to  yourself,  and  remain  yours  truly  !  " 

"  Oh  !  you  may  count  on  the  absolute  dumbness  of  an  old 
sub-chief;  I  have  had  secrets " 

"  Good  !  but  you  must  keep  these  secrets  from  your  wife, 
your  sister,  and  Monsieur  and  Madame  Colleville,  when  we 
are  with  them." 

"  I  won't  let  a  muscle  play  in  my  face,"  said  Thuillier,  put- 
ting it  in  repose. 
8 


114  '     THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Good!"  replied  laPeyrade;  "and  I  will  test  you.  To 
be  eligible,  it  is  necessary  to  pay  your  full  taxes,  and  you 
don't  do  this." 

"  Your  pardon !  for  a  seat  in  the  Municipal  Council  I 
am  all  right;  I  pay  two  francs  and  eighty-six  centimes." 

"Yes,  but  for  the  Chamber  the  amount  is  five  hundred 
francs,  and  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost,  for  possession  is  neces- 
sary for  a  year." 

"The  devil !  "  said  Thuillier.  "  Here  in  a  year's  time  \ 
have  to  be  assessed  at  five  hundred  francs." 

"By  the  end  of  July,  if  not  earlier,  yoa  may  be  paying  it; 
my  devotion  to  you  leads  me  to  confide  to  you  the  secret  of 
an  affair  by  which  you  may  gain  thirty  or  forty  thousand 
francs  a  year  with  a  capital  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand at  the  most.  But,  in  your  household,  it  is  your  sister 
who  for  a  long  time  has  had  the  direction  of  your  affairs; 
with  that  I  have  no  fault  to  find  ;  she  has,  as  I  said  before, 
the  best  judgment  in  the  world  ;  therefore  it  will  be  requisite, 
as  a  start,  that  I  conquer  her  esteem;  the  affection  of  Made- 
moiselle Brigitte  may  be  accomplished  by  proposing  this  in- 
vestment to  her,  and  here  is  why :  if  Mademoiselle  Thuillier 
has  not  faith  in  my  relics,  we  should  get  into  trouble ;  then 
how  are  we  to  suggest  to  your  sister  that  she  should  purchase 
the  property  in  your  name  ?  It  were  better  that  the  idea 
should  come  from  me.  You  shall,  in  the  meantime,  both  be 
enabled  to  judge  of  this  business.  As  to  the  means  I  have  to 
push  you  into  the  Municipal  Council  of  the  Seine,  here  they 
are: 

"Phellion  has  the  disposition  of  one-fourth  of  the  votes 
in  the  quarter ;  he  and  Laudigeois  have  lived  there  thirty 
years ;  they  are  looked  upon  as  oracles.  I  have  a  friend  who 
controls  another  fourth,  and  the  cure  of  Saint- Jacques,  who 
is  not  without  a  certain  influence  due  to  his  virtues,  may  secure 
some  votes.  Dutocq,  by  his  intimacy  with  his  justice  of  the 
peace,  will  do  his  utmost  for  me,  especially  if  it  is  not  done 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  115 

for  my  personal  benefit ;  finally  Colleville,  as  secretary  to  the 
mayor,  represents  one-fourth  of  the  votes." 

**  Why,  you  are  right ;  I  am  elected  !  "  cried  Thuillier. 

"You  think  so?"  said  la  Peyrade,  and  his  voice  had  an 
alarming  irony;  "well,  then,  only  go  to  your  friend  Colle- 
ville asking  him  to  assist  you;  you  will  see  what  he  says. 
Every  success  in  election  matters  is  not  made  by  the  candi- 
date himself,  but  by  his  friends.  He  must  ask  for  nothing 
for  himself,  he  must  leave  himself  in  the  hands  of  his  friends; 
you  must  wait  to  be  begged  to  accept  it,  seeming  to  be  with- 
out the  ambition." 

"La  Peyrade!"  exclaimed  Thuillier,  rising  and  taking 
the  hand  of  the  young  advocate;  "you  are  an  awfully  smart 
man." 

"Not  up  to  you,  but  I  have  my  little  merits,"  replied  the 
Provencal,  smiling. 

"And  if  we  succeed,  how  can  I  recompense  you?"  asked 
Thuillier,  innocently. 

"Ah!  that's  it!  You  will  think  me  impertinent;  but 
bear  in  mind  that  there  is  within  me  a  feeling  which  must  be 
my  excuse  ;  for  it  has  given  me  the  pluck  to  try  every  resource. 
I  am  in  love,  I  give  you  my  confidence " 

"  But  with  whom  ?  "  said  Thuillier. 

"  Your  darling  little  Celeste,"  replied  la  Peyrade ;  "and  my 
love  is  surety  for  my  devotion  to  you ;  what  would  I  not  do 
for  a  father-in-law  /  It  is  but  selfishness,  I  do  but  work  for 
myself " 

"  Chut !  "  cried  Thuillier. 

"Eh,  my  friend,"  said  la  Peyrade,  taking  Thuillier  by  the 
hips,  "  if  I  had  not  had  Flavie  for  me,  and  if  I  had  not 
known  all,  should  I  speak  of  it  to  you  ?  Only  mind  this,  don't 
mention  a  word  on  this  subject  to  her.  Listen  to  me,  I  am 
of  the  stuff  that  ministers  are  made,  I  do  not  want  to  wear 
Celeste  until  I  have  won  her.  To  become  a  deputy  for  Paris 
you  must  first  annul  Minard ;  wipe  him  out,  you  must  still 


116  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

hold  your  influence  over  him  ;  to  this  end  let  them  still  hope 
to  win  Celeste,  and  we'll  trick  them  all.  I  don't  want  her 
for  her  fortune,  I  want  her  for  herself  You  see  that  I  have 
no  underhand  scheme,  while  you  six  months  after  entering 
the  Council  will  have  the  Cross,  and  as  soon  as  you  are 
elected  deputy  will  be  made  an  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.  Well,  then,  trust  to  me;  do  not  think  of  making 
me  a  member  of  your  family  until  you  have  the  ribbon  in  your 
button-hole,  on  the  day  following  that  on  which  you  enter  the 
Chamber ;  nevertheless,  I  can  do  still  more :  I  can  get  you 
forty  thousand  francs  a  year." 

"  For  only  one  of  these  three  things  you  could  have  our 
Celeste." 

"  What  a  gem  !  "  said  la  Peyrade,  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven. 
"  I  am  foolish  enough  to  pray  God  for  her  every  day.  She 
is  charming — she  is  very  like  you,  very.  Well,  well,  you 
need  not  fear  my  discretion.  My  God,  it  was  Dutocq  who 
told  me  all.  Till  this  evening.  By-the-by,  don't  forget  that 
you  never  intended  Celeste  for  me.  Above  all,  say  nothing 
to  Flavie." 

As  Thuillier  went  out  he  said  to  himself: 

"  That's  a  very  superior  man  !  We  shall  get  along  together 
famously,  and,  my  faith,  it  would  be  hard  to  beat  him  as  a 
match  for  Celeste;"  and  so  forth. 

The  house  toward  which  Th^odose  soon  afterward  went  his 
way  had  been  the  hoc  erat  in  votis  of  Phellion  during  twenty 
years  past ;  it  was  as  much  the  house  of  Phellion  as  the 
braiding,  the  brandebourgs,  were  an  integral  portion  of  Ceri- 
zet's  overcoat  and  its  indispensable  ornament. 

This  building,  planked  up  against  a  great  house,  of  the 
depth  of  one  room  only,  some  twenty  feet,  had  a  species  of 
little  wing  or  lean-to  on  either  side,  each  having  one  window. 
It  had  for  chief  charm  a  garden  some  thirty  fathoms  wide, 
but  longer  than  the  frontage  by  the  width  of  a  court  from  the 
street,  and  a  row  of  lime-trees. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  117 

This  edifice  of  rough  stone,  stuccoed  over,  three  stories 
high,  was  yellow-washed,  with  Venetian  blinds  above  and 
plain,  broad  shutters  below,  painted  green.  The  kitchen  oc- 
cupied the  first  floor  of  the  wings  at  the  end,  by  the  court- 
yard ;  a  stout,  strong  girl,  protected  by  two  great  dogs,  was 
the  cook  and  janitor.  The  front  had  five  windows,  beside  the 
two  wings  which  projected  about  six  feet,  and  was  in  the 
"  Style  Phellion."  Above  the  door  he  had  inserted  a  marble 
tablet,  on  which  was  inscribed  in  letters  of  gold :  Aurea  me- 
diocritas.  Over  a  sun-dial  he  had  a  tablet  on  which  was  traced 
this  sage  maxim  :   Umbra  mea  vita  sic .' 

He  had  lately  restored  the  window-sills  with  Languedoc  red 
marble  which  he  had  picked  up  in  a  stonemason's  yard.  At 
the  end  of  the  garden  was  a  colored  statue  which  passers-by 
thought  looked  like  a  nurse  suckling  a  baby.  This  small 
freehold,  which  had  been  long  coveted  by  the  Phellions,  had 
cost  eighteen  thousand  francs  in  1831. 

Such  was  the  retreat  of  this  great  but  unknown  citizen,  who 
now  enjoyed  the  sweets  of  repose,  after  having  paid  his 
debt  to  his  country  by  working  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance 
from  which  he  had  retired  as  first-clerk  after  thirty-six  years' 
service. 

In  1832  he  had  led  his  battalion  of  the  National  Guard  in 
the  attack  at  Saint-Merri,  but  his  neighbors  saw  tears  in  his 
eyes  at  the  thought  of  being  compelled  to  fire  on  the  misled 
Frenchmen.  His  virtuous  hesitancy  gained  him  the  esteem 
of  his  quarter,  but  it  lost  him  the  decoration  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor.  The  worthy  man  only  wished  this  to  fill  his  cup  of 
happiness.  He  had  thought  of  asking  Minard  to  help  him  in 
his  secret  ambition,  but  had  not  as  yet  been  able  to  screw 
himself  up  to  this  pome. 

When  la  Peyrade  presented  himself  the  family  was  com- 
plete, each  one  being  present  in  their  Sunday  best  and  sitting 
before  the  fire  in  the  salon — a  room  wainscoted  in  wood, 
painted  in  two  tints  of  gray — they  all  started  when  the  cook 


118  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

announced  the  very  man  whom  they  had  all  been  discussing 
in  reference  to  Celeste,  Felix's  love  carrying  him  so  far  as  to 
cause  him  to  go  to  mass  in  order  to  sec  her. 

"Alas  !  the  Thuilliers  appear  to  me  to  be  set  upon  a  really 
dangerous  man,"  said  Mme.  Phellion  ;  "he  took  Madame 
Colleville  on  his  arm  this  morning  and  they  went  off  together 
to  the  Luxembourg." 

"He  has  something  peculiarly  sinister  about  him,"  cried 
F6lix,  "has  that  advocate;  if  told  that  he  had  committed 
some  crime,  I  should  not  be  at  all  astonished." 

"You  are  going  too  far,"  said  his  father;  "he  is  cousin- 
german  to  Tartuffe,  that  immortal  figure  cast  in  bronze  by 
our  honest  Moliere,  for  Moliere,  my  children,  had  honesty 
and  patriotism  for  the  basis  of  his  genius." 

Thus  speaking  he  perceived  Genevieve  enter,  who  said : 

"  Here  is  Monsieur  de  la  Peyrade,  who  wishes  to  speak  to 
monsieur." 

"Tome!  "  cried  M.  Phellion.  "Bid  him  enter!  "  added  he 
with  that  solemnity  in  little  things  that  gave  him  a  ridiculous 
air,  but  not  so  to  his  family  upon  whom  it  always  imposed, 
and  all  of  whom  accepted  him  as  their  king. 

"  To  what  do  wc  owe  the  honor  of  your  visit,  monsieur  ?  " 
said  Phellion  severely. 

"To  your  importance  in  the  quarter,  my  dear  Monsieur 
Phellion,  and  to  public  affairs,"  replied  Theodose. 

"Then  we  will  pass  through  to  my  study,"  said  Phellion. 

"No,  no,  my  friend,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  a  little  woman, 
as  flat  as  a  flounder,  and  who  still  retained  on  her  face  the 
grim  severity  which  is  habitual  to  the  professor  of  music  in 
young  ladies*  seminaries ;  "we  will  leave  you  here." 

An  upright  Erard  piano  placed  between  the  two  windows 
and  fronting  the  fireplace  proclaimed  her  pretensions  to  still 
rank  as  a  virtuoso. 

"Am  I  so  unhappy  as  to  cauSe  you  to  take  flight?"  said 
Thdodose,  pleasantly  smiling  at   the  mother  and  daughter. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  119 

"You  have  a  delightful  retreat  here,"  continued  he,  "and 
you  only  need  the  presence  of  a  pretty  daughter-in-law  to  en- 
able you  to  pass  the  remainder  of  your  days  in  that  aurea 
mediocritas,  the  vow  of  the  Latin  poet,  in  the  midst  of  family 
joys.  Your  antecedents  merit  this  recompense,  after  all  that 
you  have  done,  my  dear  Monsieur  Phellion  ;  you  are  at  once 
a  good  citizen  and  a  patriarch " 

"Mosieur,"  said  Phellion,  quite  embarrassed;  "  mosieur, 
I  have  done  my j'ooty  (duty)  and  that  is  orl  (all)." 

At  the  word  "daughter-in-law,"  spoken  by  Theodose, 
Mme.  Barniol,  who  was  as  like  her  mother,  Mme.  Phellion, 
as  two  drops  of  water  resemble  each  other,  looked  at  Mme. 
Phellion  and  F6lix  in  a  manner  which  seemed  to  say :  "  Can 
we  be  mistaken?  " 

The  desire  to  talk  about  this  incident  occasioned  the  four 
to  go  out  into  the  garden,  for,  in  March,  1840,  the  weather 
was  quite  fine,  at  least  in  Paris. 

"Commandant,"  said  Theodose  when  alone  with  the 
honest  burgher,  who  was  flattered  at  being  thus  addressed, 
"I  came  to  speak  with  you  on  election  matters." 

"Ah!  yes,  we  have  to  nominate  a  municipal  councilor," 
said  Phellion,  interrupting  him. 

"And  it  is  in  reference  to  a  candidate  that  I  have  ventured 
to  trouble  your  Sunday  enjoyment ;  but,  perhaps,  we  may  not, 
after  all,  go  beyond  the  family  circle." 

It  was  impossible  that  Phellion  could  be  more  Phellion  at 
this  moment  than  Theodose  was  Phellion. 

"I  will  not  allow  you  to  say  another  word,"  replied  the 
commandant,  profiting  by  a  pause  made  by  Theodose  to  cut 
in :   "  My  choice  is  made." 

"We  have,  then,  the  same  idea,"  cried  Theodose,  "  people 
of  good  intent  meet  on  a  common  ground  the  same  as  men  ot 
genius." 

"  I  don't  know  about  that  being  so  this  time,  it  would  be 
phenomenal,"  answered  Phellion.     "  This  arrondissement  has 


120  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

had  as  a  representative  on  the  Municipal  Council  the  most 
virtuous  of  men,  who  was  also  a  great  judge,  you  know,  the 
late  Monsieur  Popinot,  who  died  as  councilor  of  State.  When 
it  was  necessary  to  replace  him,  his  nephew,  who  inherits  his 
beneficence,  was  not  then  a  resident  in  the  quarter,  but,  since 
then,  he  has  purchased  and  now  occupies  the  house  that  be- 
longed to  his  uncle,  on  the  Rue  de  la  Montagne-Sainte-Gcne- 
vidve;  he  is  doctor  at  the  Polytechnic  and  also  at  one  of  the 
hospitals ;  he  is  an  ornament  to  our  quarter ;  by  these  titles, 
and  to  honor  in  the  person  of  the  nephew  the  memory  of  the 
uncle,  some  residents  of  the  quarter  and  myself  have  resolved 
to  carry  Dr.  Horace  Bianchon,  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  as  you  know,  and  one  of  the  new  glories  of  the  illus- 
trious school  (of  medicine)  of  Paris.  A  man  is  not  great  in 
our  eyes  simply  because  he  is  celebrated,  but  the  late  Coun- 
cilor Popinot  was,  in  my  opinion,  nearly  a  Saint-Vincent  de 
Paul." 

"A  doctor  is  not  an  administrator,"  replied  Th^odose ; 
"  and  I  have  come  to  ask  your  vote  for  a  man  which  in  your 
own  interests  demands  the  sacrifice  of  any  predilection,  which 
after  all  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  the  public." 

"Ah!  monsieur!"  cried  Phellion,  rising  and  posing  like 
Lafon  in  his  "LaGlorieux"  attitude,  "can  you  so  belittle 
me  as  to  think  that  my  personal  interests  can  ever  influence 
my  political  conscience  ?  On  the  side  of  public  matters,  I  am 
a  citizen,  nothing  more,  nothing  less." 

Thiodose  smiled  in  his  sleeve  at  the  thought  of  the  struggle 
about  to  pass  between  the  father  and  the  citizen. 

"  Don't  engage  your  convictions  too  earnestly,  I  entreat 
you,"  said  la  Peyrade ;  "  for  the  happiness  of  your  dear  Felix 
is  at  stake." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  those  words ?"  asked  Phellion, 
'  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  in  the  favorite  pose  of  the 
famous  Odilon  Barrot. 

"Why,  I  have  come  on  behalf  of  our  mutual  friend,  the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  121 

worthy  and  excellent  Monsieur  Thuillier,  whose  influence  over 
the  destinies  of  the  lovely  Celeste  CoUeville  arc  not  unknown 
to  you.  Your  admirable  son  might  make  any  family  proud  of 
his  entry  into  it ;  now  you  cannot  better  further  his  marriage 
with  the  charming  Celeste  than  by  earning  the  eternal  grati- 
tude of  the  Thuilliers,  which  you  can  do  by  recommending 
him  to  your  fellow-citizens  for  their  suffrages.  I  have  devoted 
myself,  monsieur,  to  the  service  of  the  humble,  as  did  the  late 
Councilor  Popinot,  a  sublime  man,  as  you  say;  and  if  my 
destiny  were  not  in  some  sense  religious,  and  thus  antagonistic 
to  the  obligations  of  marriage,  my  taste,  my  further  vocation, 
would  be  for  the  service  of  God  by  His  church.  I  am  not  al- 
ways on  the  carpet  like  other  philanthropists ;  I  do  not  write, 
I  work,  for  I  am  a  man  who  has  vowed  to  do  all  for  the  good 
of  Christian  charity.  I  have  guessed  at  the  ambition  of  our 
friend  Thuillier,  and  I  wished  to  contribute  to  the  happiness 
of  two  beings,  made  for  each  other,  by  offering  you  the  means 
of  gaining  access  to  the  heart,  a  somewhat  cold  one,  of 
Thuillier." 

Phellion  was  dumfounded  by  this  excellent  harangue, 
cleverly  spoken  ;  he  was  dazed,  startled  ;  but  he  remained  the 
same  Phellion ;  he  went  toward  the  advocate  and  extended 
his  right  hand,  and  la  Peyrade  gave  him  his. 

Both  gave  one  of  those  wrings  of  the  hand  such  as  were 
given,  about  August,  1830,  between  a  bourgeoisie  and  a  man 
of  the  morrow. 

"Mosieur,"  said  the  commandant,  with  feeling,  "I  judged 
you  wrongly.  What  you  have  given  me  the  honor  of  con- 
fiding here  will  here  die,"  pointing  to  his  heart.  "Real 
worth  is  so  rare,  that  in  our  weak  nature  we  are  apt  to  be  dis- 
trustful of  it  when  it  appears.  In  me  you  have  a  friend,  if  you 
will  allow  me  to  do  myself  the  honor  of  taking  such  title. 
But,  m6sieur,  you  must  learn  to  know  me ;  I  should  sink  in 
my  own  estimation  if  I  proposed  Thuillier.  No,  my  son  must 
never  know  happiness  at  the  cost  of  a  bad  act  done  by  his 


122  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

father,  I  shall  not  change  my  vote  to  another  candidate  to 
there  find  my  son's  interest.     That  is  virtue,  mosieur !  " 

La  Peyrade  took  out  his  handkerchief,  rubbed  it  into  his 
eye  and  brought  forth  a  tear,  and  said,  extending  his  hand  to 
Phellion  and  turning  his  head  : 

"  There,  monsieur,  is  the  sublimity  of  private  life  and  politi- 
cal life  in  conflict !  Not  for  anything  would  I  have  missed  this 
spectacle — my  visit  is  not  wasted.  What  would  you  ?  in  your 
place  I  should  do  the  same.  You  are  the  noblest  work  of 
God — an  honest  man ;  a  good  man,  a  fellow-citizen  of  Jean- 
Jacques  !  More  of  such  citizens,  then,  oh,  France,  my  country, 
what  might  you  not  become  !  This  is  me,  monsieur,  I  crave 
the  honor  of  being  your  friend." 

"What's  happening?"  cried  Mme.  Phellion,  who  was 
looking  at  the  scene  through  the  window.  "Your  father  and 
that  monster  of  a  man  are  embracing  each  other !  " 

Phellion  and  the  advocate  went  out  to  rejoin  the  family  in 
the  garden. 

"  My  dear  Felix,"  said  the  old  man,  pointing  to  la  Peyrade, 
who  bowed  to  Mme.  Phellion,  "  be  very  grateful  to  this  worthy 
young  man  ;  he  will  be  more  helpful  than  injurious  to  you." 

For  about  five  minutes  the  lawyer  walked  under  the  leafless 
lime-tt€es  with  Mme.  Phellion,  and  during  that  time  gave 
them  a  bit  of  counsel,  which  was  to  bear  fruit  that  evening  ; 
the  first  happy  result  being  to  cause  the  ladies  to  admire  his 
talents,  candor,  and  other  inappreciable  qualities. 

After  he  had  bidden  them  adieu,  Mme.  Phellion  took  her 
husband's  arm  to  reenter  the  salon,  and  said  to  him : 

**  And  what,  my  friend,  you,  so  good  a  father,  made  you 
by  an  excessive  delicacy  throw  obstacles  in  the  way  of  so 
good  a  marriage  for  our  Felix?" 

"My  dear  little  woman,"  replied  Phellion,  "the  great  men 
of  antiquity,  such  as  Brutus  and  others,  were  never  fathers 
when  they  had  to  be  citizens.  The  middle-class  has,  even 
more  than  the  aristocracy  which  it  is  called  upon  to  replace, 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  123 

to  exercise  the  hightest  virtues.  Monsieur  de  Saint-Hilaire 
thought  not  of  the  loss  of  his  arm  when  he  saw  Turenne  lay 
dead  before  him.  Shall  I  betray  sue*-  feelings  in  the  bosom 
of  the  family  where  I  have  taught  them  ?  No.  Weep  to-day, 
my  dear,  to-morrow  you  will  esteem  me  !  "  he  added,  as  he 
perceived  tears  in  the  eyes  of  his  little  skinny  wife. 

These  grandiloquent  words  were  spoken  on  the  threshold 
of  the  door  over  which  was  written  :  Aurea  mediocritas. 

"  I  should  have  added  :  et  digna  ./  "  added  Phellion,  point- 
ing upward  to  the  tablet;  "but  those  two  words  are  too 
eulogistic." 

"But,  father,"  said  Marie-Theodore  Phellion,  the  future 
engineer  of  roads  and  bridges,  when  they  were  again  in  the 
salon,  "  it  seems  to  me  that  a  man  does  not  fail  in  the  matter 
of  honor  by  changing  his  determination  in  regard  to  an  unim- 
portant matter  when  it  does  not  concern  the  public." 

"  Unimportant,  my  son  !  "  cried  Phellion.  "  Between  our- 
selves, and  Felix  partakes  my  convictions,  Mosieur  Thuillier 
is  without  any  kind  of  capacity;  he  knows  nothing.  Horace 
Bianchon  is  a  capable  man ;  he  would  get  a  thousand  things 
done  for  the  arrondissement,  and  Thuillier  not  one.  Beside, 
if  man  does  not  blame,  God  will.  My  conscience  is  free 
from  blame,  and  I  wish  to  leave  my  memory  unblemished  to 
you.     Therefore  nothing  can  change  my  opinion." 

"Oh!  my  good  father,"  cried  the  little  Mme.  Barniol, 
throwing  herself  on  a  cushion  at  the  knees  of  Phellion,  "  don't 
mount  the  high  horse  !  There  are  lots  of  imbeciles  and  sim- 
pletons in  the  Municipal  Council,  but  France  goes  on  just  the 
same.  He'll  vote  the  same  as  others,  this  brave  Thuillier. 
Remember  that  Celeste  will  have  five  hundred  thousand  francs 
perhaps. ' ' 

"She  might  have  millions,"  said  Phellion,  "yet  I  would 
leave  them  there.  I  will  not  propose  Thuillier,  when  my 
duty  to  the  memory  of  the  great  virtues  of  the  best  man  who 
ever  lived  says  nominate  Horace  Bianchon.     From  high  in 

S 


124  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

the  heavens,  Popinot  contemplates  and  applauds  me,"  cried 
Phellion  enthusiastically. 

"My  father  is  right,"  said  Felix,  arousing  from  a  brown 
study;  "he  deserves  our  respect  and  love,  like  as  he  has 
always  done  in  the  course  of  life,  unpretending  and  honored. 
I  love  Celeste  as  much  as  I  love  my  family,  but  I  do  not  wish 
to  rise  at  the  cost  of  my  father's  honor;  and,"  he  added, 
"  the  moment  the  question  becomes  one  of  conscience,  let  no 
more  be  said." 

Phellion,  his  eyes  filled  with  tears,  went  to  his  eldest  son, 
took  him  in  his  arms,  and  said  : 

*'  My  son,  my  son  !  "  in  a  broken  voice. 

"This  is  all  rubbish,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  in  a  whisper  to 
Mme.  Barniol ;  ".come  and  help  me  dress,  we  must  put  an  end 
to  this ;  I  know  your  father,  he  is  an  obstinate.  To  carry  out 
the  scheme  which  that  noble  and  pious  young  man  gave  me, 
Theodore,  I  shall  need  your  support — therefore  be  ready,  my 
son." 

At  this  moment  Genevieve  came  in  and  delivered  a  letter  to 
M.  Phellion. 

**  An  invitation  to  dine  with  the  Thuilliers,  my  wife,  myself, 
and  Felix,"  said  he. 

The  magnificent  and  startling  idea  of  the  advocate  of  the 
poor  had  caused  as  much  turmoil  at  the  Thuilliers  as  upset  at 
the  Phellions ;  and  Jerome,  without  confiding  anything  to 
his  sister,  for  he  piqued  himself  on  his  honor  to  his  Mephis- 
topheles,  had  gone  to  her  room  and  said : 

"Good  little  woman  "  (he  always  caressed  her  heart  with 
these  words),  "we  shall  have  some  top  sawyers  to  dinner 
to-day ;  I  shall  invite  the  Minards,  so  let  us  have  a  good 
dinner;  I  have  written  the  Phellions  an  invitation,  it  is  a 
little  late,  but  with  them  it  won't  matter.  As  to  the  Minards, 
I  must  throw  dust  in  their  eyes  ;  I  need  them." 

"  Four  Minards,  three  Phellions,  four  CoUevilles,  and  our- 
selves— that  is  thirteen." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  125 

**  La  Peyrade,  fourteen ;  it  might  be  as  well  to  invite 
Dutocq ;  he  can  give  us  a  push ;  I'll  go  up  to  him." 

"  What  are  you  up  to?  "  cried  his  sister ;  "  fifteen  to  din- 
ner, that  means  at  least  forty  francs  sent  dancing  !  " 

"Don't  regret  that,  my  good  little  woman  ;  above  all,  be 
as  adoring  as  possible  to  our  young  friend  la  Peyrade.  He  is 
a  friend — he  will  prove  it !  If  you  love  me,  care  for  him  like 
the  apple  of  your  eye." 

And  he  left  Brigitte  stupefied. 

"Yes,  yes,  I  will  wait  till  he  does  prove  it,"  said  she  to 
herself.  "  He  can't  catch  me  with  pretty  words,  not  me  ! 
He  is  a  nice  boy,  but,  before  carrying  him  my  heart,  I  must 
study  him  a  little  more." 

Thuillier  invited  Dutocq ;  then  off  to  Z6lie,  whom  he  bam- 
boozled into  coming;  then  to  the  Minards.  Minard  had 
bought  one  of  those  great,  sumptuous  dwellings  which  the  old 
religious  orders  had  erected  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Sorbonne. 
As  he  ascended  the  broad,  stone  stairway,  with  a  balustrade, 
which  showed  how  well  the  second  order  of  arts  had  flourished 
under  Louis  XIII.,  he  envied  the  mayor  his  hotel  and  posi- 
tion. 

In  this  handsome  house,  with  a  garden  in  the  rear  and  a  court- 
yard in  front,  lived  a  retired  grocer,  a  successful  cheat. 
Thuillier's  name  opened  the  doors  of  the  salon  where,  among 
red  velvet  and  gold,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  magnificent 
Chinese  stuffs,  a  poor  woman  sat,  who  at  every  popular  ball 
crushed  the  hearts  of  the  princes  and  princesses  at  the  Chateau. 

"  Is  she  not  rightly  given  the  name  of  '  the  Caricature? '  " 
said  a  smiling  pseudo-lady  of  the  bed-chamber  to  a  duchess 
who  could  not  refrain  from  laughing  at  the  appearance  of 
Zelie  tricked  out  in  her  diamonds,  red  as  a  poppy,  squeezed 
into  a  spangled  dress,  and  rolling  about  like  one  of  the 
barrels  of  her  old  store. 

"  Can  you  pardon  me,  fair  lady,"  said  Thuillier,  wriggling 
around  and  ending  by  striking  an  attitude,  number  two  of  his 


126  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

repertoire  of  1807,  ''  for  having  left  on  my  desk  this  invita- 
tion which  I  really  thought  had  been  sent  you  ?  It  is  for  to- 
day ;  perhaps  I  come  too  late " 

Z6lie  examined  her  husband's  face,  as  he  advanced  to  meet 
Thuillier,  and  responded  : 

*'  We  had  intended  going  to  have  a  look  at  the  country 
and  dine  by  chance  at  a  restaurant,  but  we  can  readily  re- 
nounce the  project,  all  the  more  willingly  because  it  seems  to 
me  so  devilish  common  to  go  out  of  Paris  on  a  Sunday." 

"  We  can  have  a  little  hop  to  the  piano  for  the  youngsters, 
if  there'll  be  enough  of  us,  and  I  presume  there  will  be,  as  I  sent 
word  to  Phellion,  whose  wife  is  intimate  with  Madame  Prou, 
the  successor " 

"The  successtress,"  interrupted  M.  Minard. 

"Oh,  no,"  replied  Thuillier,  "it  would  be  successoress,  as 
we  say  the  mayoress,  of  the  demoiselle  Lagrave,  and  who  was 
a  Barniol." 

"  Is  it  necessary  to  dress?  "  asked  Mme.  Minard. 

"Oh,  well,  yes  !  "  said  Thuiller ;  "  I  should  get  in  trouble 
with  my  sister.  No,  no,  though,  it  is  only  in  the  family. 
Under  the  Empire,  madame,  we  learned  to  know  each  other 
by  dancing.  In  those  glorious  days,  a  good  dancer  was  as 
much  as  a  fine  soldier.  To-day  people  are  too  matter  of 
fact " 

"  We  won't  talk  politics,"  said  the  mayor,  smiling.  "  The 
King  is  a  great  man  and  very  smart.  I  live  in  admiration  of 
my  times  and  its  institutions  which  we  have  given  ourselves. 
The  King  understands  what  he  is  doing  when  he  develops 
our  industries  ;  it  is  a  hand-to-hand  fight  with  England,  and 
this  second  peace  is  doing  us  more  good  than  all  the  wars  of 
the  Empire." 

"What  a  deputy  Minard  would  make,"  said  Zelie  naively. 
"  Between  you  and  I,  he  tries  to  speak  when  we  are  alone  ;  you 
would  help  to  get  him  returned,  would  you  not,  really,  Thuil- 
lier ?  " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  127 

"No  talking  politics,"  replied  Thuillier.  "Come  at  five 
o'clock." 

'•That  little  Vinet,  is  he  to  be  there?"  asked  Minard. 
"Without  doubt  he  has  an  eye  on  Celeste." 

"Then  he  may  order  his  crepe,"  answered  Thuillier. 
"Brigitte  would  not  lend  ear  to  him." 

Zelie  and  Minard  exchanged  smiles  of  satisfaction. 

After  inviting  the  Laudigeois  when  he  left  the  Minards,  he 
then  called  on  the  Collevilles  to  be  sure  that  Celeste  wore  a 
pretty  toilette.  He  found  Flavie  somewhat  pensive,  and 
Thuillier  had  to  overcome  her  indecision. 

"My  old  and  my  ever-young  love,"  said  he,  putting  his 
arm  about  her  waist,  for  she  was  alone  in  her  room,  "I  can- 
not have  any  secrets  from  you.  I  have  a  most  important  affair 
on  hand.  I  cannot  say  more,  but  I  can  ask  you  to  be  particu- 
larly gracious  to  a  young  man " 

"Who?" 

"Young  la  Peyrade." 

"And  why,  Charles?" 

"  He  holds  my  future  in  his  hands ;  then,  too,  he  is  a  man 
of  genius.     Oh  !  I  know.     Between  us  it  is  give  and  take." 

"  How  !     You  want  me  to  play  the  coquette  with  him  ?  " 

"Not  too  much,  my  angel,"  replied  Thuillier,  with  a  fatu- 
ous air. 

And  off  he  went  without  noticing  a  species  of  amazement 
that  had  befallen  Flavie. 

"  That  is  a  power,"  said  she  to  herself,  "  that  young  man. 
We  shall  see." 

At  half-past  four  Theodose  was  at  his  post ;  he  had  assumed 
a  simple  air,  part  servile,  and  a  soft  voice ;  and  first  he  went 
with  Thuillier  into  the  garden. 

"  My  friend,  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  of  your  success,  but 
I  must  once  more  impress  upon  you  at  all  times  to  keep  abso- 
lute silence.  If  any  one  questions  you  about  Celeste  give 
evasive  answers,  such  as  you  learned  so  well  at  the  bureau." 


128  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"All  right!"  answered  Thuillier.  "But  is  it  a  cer- 
tainty?" 

"You  will  see  the  dessert  I  have  prepared.  Be  modest, 
above  all.     Here  are  the  Minards,  leave  me  to  lime  them." 

After  saluting  them,  la  Peyrade  kept  close  by  M.  the  Mayor, 
and  at  an  opportune  moment  he  took  him  aside  and  said  to 
him  : 

"Monsieur  the  Mayor,  a  man  of  your  political  importance 
does  not  face  the  ennui  of  dining  here  without  having  some  end 
in  view  ;  I  do  not  for  a  moment  ask  your  motives,  I  have  no 
right  so  to  do ;  it  is  not  ray  part  here  below  to  interfere  in 
the  business  of  this  world's  powers ;  but  pardon  my  boldness 
and  deign  to  listen  to  the  counsel  that  I  can  give  you.  If  I 
am  able  to  do  you  a  service  to-day,  you  are  in  a  position  to 
render  me  two  to-morrow,  so  if  you  listen  to  me  a  moment  it 
is  in  my  own  interest.  Our  friend  Thuillier  is  in  despair  at 
being  a  nobody,  and  he  is  intending  to  become  something,  a 
personage  in  the  arrondisseraent." 

"Ah  !  "  said  Minard. 

"Oh  !  nothing  much  ;  he  wants  the  nomination  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Municipal  Council.  I  know  that  Phellion,  divining 
an  equal  advantage  from  doing  him  a  service,  intends  to  pro- 
pose our  poor  friend  as  a  candidate.  Well,  perhaps  you  might 
find  it  necessary  to  your  project  to  be  forehanded  with  him. 
The  nomination  of  Thuillier  will  not  only  be  favorable  to 
you — I  should  think  it  would  also  be  agreeable ;  he  will  do 
well  in  the  council ;  there  are  worse  than  he  there.  And 
then  if  he  is  indebted  to  you  for  his  advancement  he  will  see 
through  your  eyes ;  he  will  regard  you  as  the  shining  light  of 
the  town " 

"My  dear  sir,  I  thank  you,"  said  Minard;  "you  have 
rendered  me  a  service  which  I  shall  never  forget,  and  that 
proves  to  me " 

"That  I  don't  care  for  the  Phellions,"  replied  la  Peyrade, 
profiting  by  the  mayor's  hesitation,  fearing  that  he  might 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  126 

bring  forth  some  speech  disdainful  of  the  advocate.  "  I  hate 
people  who  trade  on  their  honesty  and  make  cash  of  their 
noble  sentiments." 

"You  thoroughly  understand  them,"  said  Minard  ;  "  they 
are  sycophants.  That  man,  all  his  life,  for  the  past  ten  years, 
is  explained  by  that  scrap  of  red  ribbon,"  added  the  mayor, 
showing  his  own  button-hole. 

"Lookout,  though,"  said  the  lawyer,  "his  son  loves 
Celeste  and  is  in  the  citadel." 

"Yes,  but  my  son  has  twelve  thousand  livres  of  income 
himself " 

"Oh!  "  said  the  advocate,  with  a  shrug,  "  Mademoiselle 
Brigitte  said  the  other  day  that  she  wanted  at  least  that  from 
suitors  for  Celeste.  And,  after  all,  before  six  months  are 
over,  you  will  see  that  Thuillier  will  have  a  freehold  bring- 
ing in  forty  thousand  francs  a  year." 

"The  deuce!  I  never  doubted  it,"  replied  the  mayor. 
"  Well,  he  shall  be  a  member  of  the  council." 

"In  any  case,  don't  mention  me  in  the  matter,"  said  the 
advocate  of  the  poor,  who  pressed  forward  to  greet  Mme. 
Phellion,  who  had  just  arrived.  "  Well,  my  fair  lady,  have 
you  succeeded?" 

"I  waited  until  four  o'clock,  but  the  worthy  and  excellent 
man  would  not  listen  at  all ;  he  is  too  much  occupied  to 
accept  such  a  charge,  and  Monsieur  Phellion  has  a  letter  in 
which  Dr.  Bianchon  thanks  him  for  his  good  intentions,  and 
says  that,  for  himself,  his  candidate  is  Monsieur  Thuillier. 
He  is  using  his  influence  in  his  favor  and  prays  my  husband  to 
do  the  same." 

"  And  what  says  your  excellent  spouse  ?  " 

"*I  have  done  my  duty,'  he  replied.  'I  have  been  no 
traitor  to  my  conscience,  and  henceforth  I  am  wholly  for 
Thuillier.'" 

"Well,  that's  all  fixed  then,"  said  la  Peyrade.     "Forget 
my  visit,  the  whole  credit  of  the  idea  is  your  own." 
9 


130  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Then  turning  to  Mme.  Colleville,  with  a  most  respectful 
attitude,  he  said : 

"Madame,  be  so  good  as  to  introduce  me  to  our  good 
Papa  Colleville ;  I  propose  a  little  surprise  for  Thuillier,  and 
he  must  be  in  the  secret." 

As  la  Peyrade  played  his  part  for  Thuillier's  benefit,  Mme. 
Colleville  was  hearing  such  remarks  as  made  her  ears  tingle ; 
it  was  a  mystery  to  her. 

"I  wish  I  knew  what  Messrs.  Colleville  and  la  Peyrade  are 
saying  that  they  laugh  so  much?"  said  Mme.  Thuillier, 
simply,  looking  out  through  the  window. 

"  They  are  speaking  just  such  rubbish  as  all  men  talk  be- 
tween themselves,"  answered  Mile.  Thuillier,  who  frequently 
attacked  the  men  by  a  kind  of  instinct  natural  in  old  maids. 

"  He  is  incapable  of  such  a  thing,"  said  Phellion,  gravely; 
"  for  Mosieur  de  la  Peyrade  is  one  of  the  most  virtuous 
young  people  whom  I  have  met.  I  put  him  on  a  par  with 
Felix;  nay,  I  wish  that  my  son  had  a  little  of  Mosieur 
Theodose's  pretty  piety." 

"He  is,  in  fact,  a  man  of  merit,  who  will  get  on,"  ob- 
served Minard.  "  As  for  me,  my  best  wishes — I  won't  say 
my  protection — are  his." 

"He  spends  more  in  lamp-oil  than  bread,"  said  Dutocq; 
"that  I  know." 

"  His  mother,  if  she  still  survives,  must  be  proud  of  him," 
said  Mme.  Phellion,  sententiously. 

"  You  may  confide  to  him  your  secrets  and  your  fortune," 
said  Thuillier ;  "in  these  days  that  is  not  such  a  small  thing 
to  say  of  the  best  of  men." 

"  It  is  Colleville  who  is  making  him  laugh,"  cried  Dutocq. 

Just  then  Colleville  and  la  Peyrade  were  at  the  bottom  of 
the  garden,  the  best  friends  in  the  world. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Brigitte,  "soup  and  the  King  must  not 
be  kept  waiting;  hand  in  the  ladies." 

fhis   pleasant   jest,   inherited    from  the    janitor's  lodge, 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  131 

ushered  the  whole  party,  with  the  exception  of  the  dreadful 
Cerizet,  into  the  dining-room.  Every  principal  character  in 
this  drama  was  seated  around  the  board. 

The  characteristics  of  the  middle-class  cook  in  1840  is 
necessary  to  a  picture  of  its  manners ;  good  housekeepers 
may  learn  a  lesson  therefrom.  A  woman  does  not  for  twenty 
years  occupy  herself  in  making  cash-bags  without  looking  up 
some  means  of  filling  a  few.  Now  Brigitte  had  this  peculi- 
arity, with  the  thrift  necessary  for  laying  the  foundation  of  a 
fortune  she  combined  that  of  dispensing  sufficient  for  necessi- 
ties. Her  relative  extravagance,  when  it  had  to  do  with  her 
brother  or  Celeste,  was  the  antitype  of  miserliness.  As  a 
fact,  she  often  commisserated  herself  for  not  being  avaricious. 

The  soup  offered  was  bouillon,  extremely  pale ;  for,  even  on 
an  occasion  such  as  this,  she  had  enjoined  the  cook  to  make 
plenty  of  it ;  then,  as  the  beef  had  to  serve  the  family  on  the 
morrow  and  the  day  after,  the  less  of  its  juices  it  furnished 
to  the  bouillon,  the  more  substantial  it  would  be.  The  beef, 
underdone,  was  always  removed  at  a  little  speech  of  Brigitte's, 
said  by  her  as  Thuillier  essayed  to  carve  : 

"I  guess  it's  rather  tough;  never  mind,  Thuillier,  no  one 
will  care  to  eat  of  it,  we  have  other  things." 

The  bouillon  was,  in  fact,  flanked  by  four  dishes  standing 
on  hot  copper  double  plates  off  which  the  silver-plating  was 
worn.  At  this  dinner,  called  the  candidature,  the  first  course 
was  composed  of  two  ducks  aux  olives,  having  opposite  a 
large  pie  aux  quenelles  and  an  eel  with  tartar  sauce,  with  a 
fricandeau  on  endive.  The  second  course  had  for  its  centre- 
piece a  fine  roast  goose  stuffed  witli  chestnuts,  a  corn-salad 
ornamented  with  slices  of  red  beet,  opposite  a  dish  of  cup- 
custards,  and  a  tureen  of  sweet  turnips  looked  down  upon  a 
bowl  of  macaroni.  This  dinner,  well  suited  to  be  that  of  a 
janitor's  wedding  festivities,  would  be  produced,  for,  at  the 
most,  twenty  francs ;  the  relics  would  keep  the  house  for  two 
days,  and  Brigitte  would  say : 


132  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

^'Dame ;  when  one  receives,  the  cash  goes  !     It's  frightful/' 

The  table  was  lighted  by  two  hideous  silver-plated  candle- 
sticks with  four  branches,  in  which  twinkled  that  economical 
candle  called  the  Aurore.  The  linen  was  resplendently  white, 
and  the  old  thread-pattern  plate  was  a  paternal  heritage,  the 
fruit  of  a  purchase  made  during  the  Revolution  by  old  Thuil- 
lier,  and  had  served  in  the  quasi  restaurant  he  had  kept  in 
his  lodge,  but  which  was  suppressed  in  1816  in  all  the  offices. 
Thus  the  fare  harmonized  with  the  dining-room,  with  the 
house,  and  with  the  Thuilliers,  whose  fate  it  was  not  to  rise 
above  their  own  style.  The  Minards,  the  Collevilles,  and  la 
Peyrade  exchanged  a  few  smiles,  which  communicated  a  sati- 
rical, but  not  expressed  thought.  They  alone  knew  of  any 
superior  luxury,  and  the  Minards  said  plainly  enough  that 
they  had  some  afterthoughts  in  accepting  such  a  dinner.  La 
Peyrade,  who  sat  beside  Flavie,  whispered  her : 

"You  see  they  need  some  one  who  can  teach  them  how  to 
live;  you  are  eating  what  is  commonly  called  cag-mag,  an 
old  friend  of  mine.  But  these  Minards ;  what  horrible  cupid- 
ity !  Your  daughter  would  be  lost  to  you.  These  parvenus 
have  the  vices  of  the  great  nobles  of  other  days,  without  their 
elegance.  Their  son,  who  has  twelve  thousand  francs  income, 
can  well  find  a  family  in  the  Potash  set  without  dragging  their 
rake  here  on  speculation.  It  is  a  pleasure  to  play  upon  such 
people  like  as  if  they  were  a  bass  or  a  clarionet." 

Flavie  listened  with  a  smile ;  she  did  not  remove  her  foot 
when  Thdodose  lightly  pressed  it  with  his  boot. 

As  the  dishes  of  the  second  course  were  being  removed, 
Minard,  afraid  that  Phellion  would  forestall  him,  said  to 
Thuillier,  very  gravely : 

"  My  dear  Thuillier,  if  I  accepted  your  dinner  it  was  be- 
cause I  had  an  important  communication  to  make  to  you,  one 
which  honors  you  so  much  that  I  choose  to  have  as  witnesses 
all  your  guests." 

Thuillier  became  pale. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  133 

*' You  obtained  for  me  the  Cross?  "  cried  he,  as  he  got  a 
look  from  Theodose,  and  to  prove  that  he  was  not  without 
finesse. 

"  You  will  have  that  some  day,"  replied  the  mayor  ;  "  but 
this  is  more  than  that.  The  Cross  is  a  favor  due  to  the  good 
opinion  of  a  minister,  whereas  this  is  now  the  question,  so 
to  say,  of  an  election  due  to  the  sentiments  of  your  fellow- 
citizens.  In  a  word,  a  great  number  of  the  electors  of  your 
arrondissement  have  cast  their  eyes  upon  you,  and  wish  to 
honor  you  with  their  confidence  by  charging  you  with  their 
representation  of  this  arrondissement  in  the  Municipal  Council 
of  Paris,  which,  as  all  the  world  knows,  is  the  council  general 
of  the  Seine." 

**  Bravo  !  "  said  Dutocq. 

Phellion  rose. 

"Monsieur  the  Mayor  has  anticipated  me,"  said  he,  in  a 
voice  broken  with  emotion  ;  "  but  it  is  so  flattering  for  our 
friend  to  be  the  object  of  interest  on  the  part  of  all  good 
citizens,  and  to  obtain  the  public  vote  from  all  parts  of  the 
capital,  that  I  must  not  complain  of  being  the  second  in  line; 
beside  I  bow  to  the  power  of  authority  !  "  (And  he  bowed 
respectfully  to  Minard.)  "Yes,  Mosieur  Thuillier,  many 
electors  think  of  giving  you  their  votes  in  that  portion  of  the 
arrondissement  where  I  have  my  humble  Penates ;  and  you 
have  the  particular  advantage  of  being  designated  by  an  illus- 
trious man  (Sensation),  by  a  man  whom  we  designed  to  honor 
for  the  sake  of  one  of  the  most  distinguished  inhabitants  of 
the  arrondissement,  who  was,  I  might  say,  for  twenty  years 
its  father.  I  allude  to  the  late  Monsieur  Popinot.  But  his 
nephew,  Doctor  Bianchon,  one  of  our  glories,  has,  owing  to 
his  pressing  duties,  declined  to  serve  us.  He  thanked  us  for 
the  compliment  paid,  but  indicated  for  our  suffrages  the  can- 
didate of  Monsieur  the  Mayor,  as  being,  in  his  opinion,  the 
more  capable  from  the  position  he  formerly  occupied." 

And  Phellion  sat  down  amid  an  acclamative  murmur. 


134  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Thuillier,  you  may  count  on  your  old  friend,"  said  Colle- 
ville. 

At  this  moment  the  guests  were  all  touched  by  the  sight 
presented  by  old  Brigitte  and  Mme.  Thuillier.  Brigitte,  pale 
as  if  about  to  faint,  let  the  slow  tears  run  unheeded  down  her 
cheeks,  tears  of  deepest  joy  ;  and  Mme.  Thuillier  sat  as  though 
struck  by  a  thunderbolt,  her  eyes  fixed.  All  at  once  the  old 
maid  sprang  into  the  kitchen,  crying  to  Josephine  the  cook : 

"Come  into  the  cellar,  my  girl  j  we  must  get  out  the  wine 
from  behind  the  fagots." 

"My  friends,"  said  Thuillier,  in  a  choking  voice,  "this  is 
the  grandest  day  in  my  life,  happier  than  that  of  my  election, 
should  I  permit  myself  to  ask  the  suffrages  of  my  fellow-citi- 
zens "  (Certainly,  of  course!),  "for  I  feel  myself  much  run 
down  with  thirty  years  of  public  service,  and  you  may  surely 
believe  that  a  man  of  honor  has  need  to  consult  his  strength 
before  he  assumes  the  functions  of  an  cediie.^^ 

"  I  expected  nothing  less  of  you,  Monsieur  Thuillier,"  cried 
Phellion.  "  Pardon  me,  this  is  the  first  time  in  my  life  that 
I  ever  interrupted  any  one,  and  one  who  was  formerly  my 
superior,  too;  but  under  the  circumstances " 

"Accept,  accept,"  cried  Zelie.  "  In  the  name  of  the  little 
man  !  we  need  such  men  as  you  for  governor." 

"  Resign  yourself,  my  chief,"  said  Dutocq ;  "  and  long  live 
our  future  councilor But  we  have  nothing  to  drink " 

"Well,  all  is  said,"  replied  Minard,  "you  are  our  candi- 
date, eh?" 

"You  think  too  much  of  me,"  said  Thuillier. 

"  That's  all  right,"  cried  Colleville;  "  a  man  who  for  thirty 
years  has  worked  in  the  galleys  of  the  Bureau  of  Finance 
should  be  a  treasure  to  the  town." 

"You  are  much  too  modest,"  said  young  Minard;  "your 
capacity  is  not  unknown  to  us ;  it  is  remembered  even  at  the 
bureau." 

*'As  you  all  insist " 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  13.5 

**The  King  will  be  well  pleased  with  our  choice,  I  can  tell 
you  that,"  said  Minard,  interrupting  Thuillier  in  a  pompous 
manner. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "will  you  permit  a  recent 
inhabitant  of  the  Saint-Jacques  faubourg  to  make  a  little  re- 
mark, which  may  not  be  unimportant  ? 

"The  influence  of  the  mayor  of  an  adjoining  arrondisse- 
ment,  immense  in  ours,  where  he  has  left  such  an  excellent 
memory — that  of  Monsieur  Phellion,  the  oracle — yes,  I  repeat 
it,  the  oracle" — noticing  a  negative  gesture  of  Phellion's— 
"of  his  battalion;  the  influence  of  Monsieur  Colleville,  pow- 
erful by  his  frank  urbanity ;  that  of  Monsieur  the  Clerk  of  the 
Peace,  no  less  valuable ;  and  my  own  humble  efforts,  all  are 
pledges  of  success,  but  they  are  not  success  itself.  To  obtain 
triumph  let  us  here  and  now  pledge  ourselves  to  keep  a  pro- 
found silence  as  to  our  intentions.  Otherwise,  we  should 
excite,  not  willing  or  desiring  it,  envy  and  the  like  passions, 
which  would  erect  obstacles  in  our  path  necessary  to  be  over- 
come. Some  would  see  good  in  our  efforts,  others  evil ;  it  is 
not  for  me  to  judge  between  such  in  the  presence  of  minds 
before  whose  superiority  I  bow,  I  content  myself  by  pointing 
out  the  dangers  our  friend  must  encounter.  The  writ  for 
election  may  not  take  effect  for  another  month.  From  now 
until  then  imagine  the  intrigues  !  Do  not  offer,  I  entreat  you, 
our  friend  Thuillier  to  the  blows  of  his  opponents ;  let  us  not 
deliver  him  over  to  public  discussion,  that  modern  harpy,  the 
trumpet  of  calumny  and  envy,  the  pretext  of  inimical  feelings 
calculated  to  belittle  all  that  is  great,  that  dishonors  all  that 
is  sacred,  and  befouls  the  respectable.  Rather  let  us  do  as  the 
third  party  is  doing  in  the  Chamber — vote  and  say  nothing  1 " 

Envy  had  turned  Minard's  son  green  and  yellow. 

"  Perfectly  true  and  well  said,"  cried  Minard. 

"Unanimously  carried,"  said  Colleville. 

"Whoso  desires  the  end  adopts  the  means,"  said  Phellion, 
emphatically. 


136  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

At  this  motnent  appeared  Mile.  ThuiUier,  followed  by  two 
domestics ;  stuck  in  her  belt  was  the  key  of  the  cellar,  and 
three  bottles  of  champagne,  two  of  old  hermitage,  and  one  of 
Malaga  wine  were  placed  upon  the  table;  but  she  herself  car- 
ried a  little  bottle  with  respectful  care,  much  like  a  fairy 
Carabosse,  which  she  placed  before  herself.  In  the  midst 
of  the  hilarity  caused  by  this  abundance  of  choice  cheer,  a 
fruit  of  her  gratitude,  poured  out  by  the  old  maid  in  the 
delirium  of  her  joy,  there  arrived  numerous  dishes  of  dessert : 
a  heaped-up  dish  of  raisins,  figs,  almonds,  and  nuts;*  pyra- 
mids of  oranges;  confections,  candied  fruits  brought  from  the 
depths  of  her  closets,  and  which,  but  for  the  circumstances, 
would  have  never  figured  on  the  table-cloth. 

"  Celeste,  they  will  bring  you  a  bottle  of  brandy  that  my 
father  got  in  1802  ;  make  an  orange  salad  !  "  cried  she  to  her 
sister-in-law.  "Monsieur  Phellion,  open  the  champagne; 
this  bottle  is  for  you  three  !  Monsieur  Dutocq,  take  this  one  ! 
Monsieur  Colleville,  you  can  make  the  corks  pop  !  " 

The  two  maids  distributed  champagne  glasses,  claret  glasses, 
and  liqueur  glasses,  for  Josephine  carried  in  three  more  bottles 
of  Bordeaux. 

"The  year  of  the  comet,"  cried  Thuillier.  "Gentlemen, 
you  have  caused  my  sister  to  lose  her  head." 

"And  this  evening  punch  and  cakes,"  she  said.  "  I  have 
sent  out  to  the  drug-store  to  buy  some  tea.  My  God  !  if 
only  I  had  known  that  this  dinner  had  to  do  with  an  elec- 
tion," exclaimed  she  to  her  sister-in-law,  "  I  would  have  served 
the  turkey." 

A  general  laugh  greeted  this  speech. 

"Oh  !  we  have  a  goose,"  said  Minard's  son,  smiling. 

"It's  an  ill  wind  that  blows  no  one  good,"f  exclaimed 
Mme.  Thuillier,  as  she  saw  marrons  glacis  and  meringues 
handed  round. 

*  Quatre-mendiants — "the  four  beggars;  "  a  popular  French  dessert. 
\Les  charrettcs y  vcrsent — the  carts  are  unloading. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  137 

Mile.  Thuillier  had  a  face  of  fire ;  she  was  a  superb  sight ; 
never  had  a  sister's  love  assumed  such  a  frenzied  expression. 

"To  those  who  know  her  it  is  quite  touching,"  remarked 
Mme.  Colleville. 

The  glasses  were  filled,  whereupon  la  Peyrade  said  : 

"Let  us  drink  to  something  sublime  !  " 

All  looked  up  in  astonishment. 

"  To  Mademoiselle  Brigitte," 

All  arose  and  with  one  voice  cried:  ^* Vive  Mademoiselle 
Thuillier:' 

After  a  toast  by  Phellion  to  M.  Minard  and  his  wife,  Thuil- 
lier proposed  : 

"  The  King  and  the  royal  family ;  I  add  nothing,  the  toast 
says  all." 

*'To  the  election  of  my  brother,"  said  Mile.  Thuillier. 

La  Peyrade  was  the  next  on  his  feet. 

**  To  the  ladies,  that  bewitching  sex  to  whom  we  owe  our 
happiness,  not  to  mention  our  mothers,  sisters,  and  wives." 

After  the  hilarity  caused  by  this  toast,  Colleville,  already 
gay,  exclaimed : 

"  Wretch  !  you  have  stolen  my  speech." 

After  some  conversation  and  a  few  unimportant  toasts, 
Cdleste  Colleville  said,  timidly: 

"  Mamma,  will  you  allow  me  to  give  a  toast  ?  " 

The  poor  girl  had  seen  the  puzzled  face  of  her  godmother ; 
she,  the  mistress  of  the  house,  had  the  expression  of  a  dog 
which  is  in  doubt  which  master  to  obey ;  she  consulted  each 
countenance  and  was  oblivious  of  herself,  but  the  joy  on  a 
face  so  unaccustomed  to  its  visits  had  the  effect  of  a  pale 
wintry  sun  behind  a  mist,  which  grudgingly  shone  through 
the  flabby,  faded  features.  Her  ill-dressed  hair  and  dingy 
attire — combined  with  her  woeful  look  of  joy — stimulated  the 
affection  of  the  young  Celeste,  who,  alone  in  the  world,  knew 
the  value  of  that  woman's  heart ;  suffering  from  all,  yet  con- 
soling herself  in  God  and  this  child  alone. 


138  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  Let  the  dear  child  give  her  little  toast,"  said  la  Peyrade 
to  Mme.  Colleville. 

"Go  on,  my  daughter,"  said  Colleville;  "we  have  the 
hermitage  yet  to  drink,  and  it's  hoary  with  age." 

"To  my  good  godmother!"  said  the  girl,  inclining  her 
glass  respectfully  before  Mme.  Thuillier  and  holding  it  toward 
her. 

The  poor  woman,  quite  scared,  looked  through  a  veil  of 
tears,  alternately,  at  her  sister  and  her  husband ;  but  her 
position  in  the  family  was  so  well  understood,  and  the  homage 
paid  by  innocence  to  weakness  had  such  a  lovely  side  to  it, 
that  the  emotion  was  general ;  every  man  rose  and  bowed  to 
Mme.  Thuillier. 

"  Ah  !  Celeste,  I  wish  I  had  a  kingdom  to  lay  at  your 
feet !  "  said  Felix  Phellion. 

"  Now,  it's  my  turn,"  said  Colleville,  posing  like  an  athlete. 
"Listen  to  me.  To  friendship!  Empty  your  glasses;  refill 
your  glasses.  Good.  To  the  fine  arts  I  the  flower  of  social 
life.  Empty  your  glasses;  refill  your  glasses.  To  another 
such  festival  the  day  after  the  election  !  " 

"What  is  in  that  little  bottle?"  asked  Dutocq  of  Mile. 
ThuUlier. 

"This,"  said  she,  "  is  one  of  my  three  bottles  of  Madame 
Amphoux  liqueur;  the  second  is  for  Celeste's  wedding,  and 
the  last  for  the  christening  of  her  first  child." 

The  dinner  ended  with  a  toast  by  Thuillier,  suggested  to 
him  by  Theodose,  when  the  Malaga  sparkled  in  the  glasses 
like  so  many  rubies. 

"Colleville,  gentlemen,  drank  X.o  friendship ;  for  myself,  I 
drink,  in  this  generous  wine,  to  my  friends ^ 

Cheers  greeted  this  speech ;  but  Dutocq  remarked  aside  to 
Theodose : 

"It  is  murder  to  pour  such  Malaga  down  such  a  class  of 
throats." 

"Ah!  if  we  could  only  imitate  this,  my  dear,"  said  Mi- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  139 

nard's  wife  to  her  spouse,  after  tasting  it;   "what  fortunes 
we  could  make." 

*' Yes,"  answered  Minard,  ''but  ours  is  made." 

"Don't  you  think,  sister,  that  we  had  better  take  coffee  in 
the  salon?"  said  Brigitte  to  her  sister. 

Mme.  Thuillier  obediently  assumed  the  air  of  mistress  of 
the  house  and  arose. 

"  Ah  !  you  are  a  great  wizard,"  said  Flavie  Colleville  tc  la 
Peyrade,  as  she  took  his  arm. 

"And  yet  I  only  care  to  bewitch  you,"  replied  he. 

"Madame  Phellion  will  play  the  piano,"  cried  Colleville. 
"We  must  all  dance  to-night — the  bottles,  Brigitte's  twenty- 
sous-pieces,  and  our  little  girls.  I'll  go  and  fetch  my  clar- 
ionet." He  handed  his  empty  coffee-cup  to  his  wife,  and 
smiled  to  see  her  such  a  good  friend  of  la  Peyrade's. 

"What  have  you  done  and  said  to  my  husband?"  asked 
Flavie  of  the  seducer. 

"Well,  since  you  tell  me  all  your  secrets,"  said  he,  letting 
himself  out  in  a  spirit  of  gayety,  always  Provencal  and  always 
apparently  so  charming,  so  natural,  so  unaffected,  "  I  won't 
conceal  from  you  a  pain  that  I  have  in  my  heart."  He  led 
her  to  a  window  and  said,  smiling  : 

"Colleville,  poor  man,  has  seen  in  me  the  artist  crushed 
by  all  these  bourgeois ;  silent  before  them  because  I  was  mis- 
understood, misjudged,  repelled ;  but  he  felt  the  heat  of  the 
sacred  fire  which  was  devouring  me.  Yes,  I  am,"  said  he  in 
a  tone  of  intense  conviction,  "  an  artist  in  words  after  the 
manner  of  Berryer ;  I  could  make  juries  weep  by  weeping 
myself,  for  I  am  as  nervous  as  a  woman.  Then  your  husband, 
who  looks  upon  the  middle-classes  with  horror,  made  game  of 
them  with  me;  we  began  by  laughing,  but  eventually  became 
serious,  and  he  found  me  as  strong  as  himself.  I  told  him  of 
the  scheme  to  make  something  of  Thuillier  ;  I  showed  him  all 
the  good  he  could  do  himself  by  becoming  a  political  mani- 
kin, if  only,  said  I,  to  be  called  a  de  Colleville,  and  to  put 


140  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

your  charming  wife  in  the  position  I  should  like  to  see  her,  as 
the  wife  of  a  receiver-general,  whence  you  could  become  a 
deputy.  Good  reasons  disguised  in  a  jest  have  the  knack  of 
penetrating  deeper  into  some  minds  than  if  soberly  stated  ;  so 
CoUeville  and  I  became  the  best  friends  in  the  world.  Don't 
you  remember  at  table  he  said :  '  Wretch,  you  have  stolen  my 
speech.'  By  the  end  of  the  evening  we  shall  be  theeing  and 
thouing.  I  shall  before  long  invite  him  to  a  jolly  party,  such 
as  always  allures  artists  who  have  become  broken  to  domestic 
rule,  and  get  him  to  kick  over  the  traces.  It  will  make  us  as 
solid  friends  as  he  and  Thuillier  are,  or  more  so,  for  I  have 
told  him  that  Thuillier  will  be  bursting  with  jealousy  when  he 
sees  his  rosette.  CoUeville  will  adopt  me ;  so  that  I  may  visit 
at  your  house  by  his  invitation.  But  what  wouldn't  you  make 
me  do?  Lick  lepers,  swallow  live  toads,  seduce  Brigitte — 
yes,  I  would  impale  my  heart  on  that  picket- fence,  if  I  needed 
her  for  a  crutch  to  drag  me  to  your  knees  !  " 

"You  are,  I  must  own,  a  most  extraordinary  man." 

"Oh,  no;  my  smallest  as  well  as  my  greatest  efforts  are 
but  the  reflection  of  the  flame  which  you  have  kindled ;  I 
intend  to  become  your  son-in-law,  so  that  we  may  never  part. 
My  wife,  oh,  my  God !  she  could  be  no  more  than  a  machine 
to  bear  children ;  but  the  supreme  being,  the  divinity,  will 
be  you,"  he  whispered  in  her  ear. 

"You  are  Satan  !  "  said  she,  with  a  sort  of  terror. 

"  No,  I  am  something  of  a  poet,  like  all  the  people  of  my 
country.  Come,  be  my  Josephine.  I'll  come  and  see  you 
to-morrow  at  two  o'clock  ;  I  long  to  see  the  pearl  in  its  shell." 

He  slipped  cleverly  away  after  these  words,  not  giving  her 
a  chance  to  reply. 

Flavie,  who  in  all  her  life  had  not  been  made  love  to  in  the 
language  of  romance,  sat  still,  but  happy  ;  her  heart  palpitated  ; 
she  told  herself  it  was  difficult  to  resist  such  influence.  Theo- 
dose  was  admirably  dressed  and  the  only  person  present  who 
had  the  deportment  of  a  gentleman  ;  in  fact,  he  was  the  only 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  141 

one  with  any  style  or  air  among  the  now  rapidly  arriving 
guests. 

Madame  Prou,  nee  Barniol,  came  with  two  school-girls  aged 
seventeen,  confided  to  her  motherly  care  by  families  residing 
in  Martinique.  M.  Prou,  a  professor  of  rhetoric  in  a  school 
managed  by  priests,  was  of  the  Phellion  model,  but  instead  of 
expanding  on  the  surface  in  phrases  and  demonstrations,  and 
posing  as  an  example,  he  was  dry  and  sententious.  He  en- 
joyed much  influence  in  that  part  of  the  quarter  bounded  by 
the  boulevard  of  Mont-Parnasse,  the  Luxembourg,  and  the 
Rue  de  Sevres.  Phellion  at  once  button-holed  him  on  behalf 
of  Thuillier. 

Felix,  still  under  the  aeep  emotion  imparted  by  Celeste's 
generous  act  and  the  cry  that  sprang  from  the  girl's  heart, 
though  no  one  but  Mme.  Thuillier  still  bore  it  in  mind,  be- 
came inspired  by  one  of  those  ingenious  impulses  which  form 
the  artlessness  of  true  love ;  but  he  was  not  to  the  "  manor 
born;"  mathematics  had  made  him  rather  absent-minded. 
He  stationed  himself  by  Mme.  Thuillier,  imagining  that  Ce- 
leste would  be  thither  attracted.  This  ruse  was  admirably 
successful. 

"Who  but  must  love  Celeste?"  said  Felix  to  Mme. 
Thuillieur. 

*'  Poor  little  dear,  no  one  in  the  world  loves  me  but  her," 
replied  the  poor  slave,  restraining  her  tears. 

"Oh!  raadame,  we  both  love  you,"  said  this  candid  Ma- 
thieu  Laensberg,  smiling. 

"What  are  you  talking  about?"  asked  Celeste  of  her 
godmother. 

"  My  child,"  replied  the  pious  victim,  drawing  her  god- 
child down  to  her  and  kissing  her  on  the  forehead,  "  he  said 
you  both  loved  me." 

"  Do  not  be  angry  at  my  presumption,  mademoiselle,"  said 
the  future  candidate  for  the  Academy  of  Sciences ;  "  but  allow 
me  the  honor  of  realizing  it.     It  is  my  nature — injustice  re- 


142  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

volts  me  deeply.  Yes,  the  Saviour  of  the  world  was  right  in 
promising  the  future  to  the  meek  heart,  to  the  sacrificed  lamb. 
But  innocence  is  the  sole  consolation  of  the  martyr.  Happy 
the  man  whom  you  will  choose." 

"  Dear  godmother,  with  what  eyes  does  Monsieur  Felix  see 
me?" 

'*  He  properly  appreciates  you,  my  little  angel ;  I  shall  pray 
God  for  both  of  you." 

Noticing  her  daughter  glowing  with  happiness,  exhaling 
rapture  through  every  pore  of  her  face,  beautiful  in  the  love- 
liness of  the  first  roses  of  an  indirect  declaration,  Flavie  felt 
a  pang  of  jealousy  in  her  heart ;  she  went  to  Celeste  and  whis- 
pered to  her : 

"You  are  not  behaving  at  all  nicely,  my  daughter,  every- 
body is  observing  you  ;  you  will  compromise  yourself  by  talk- 
ing so  long  with  Monsieur  Felix  without  knowing  whether  it 
has  our  approval." 

"But,  mamma,  my  godmother  is  here." 

"Ah!  pardon  me,  dear  friend,"  said  Mme,  Colleville,  "I 
did  not  see  you." 

"  Like  all  the  rest  of  the  world." 

This  retort  stung  Mme.  Colleville,  who  took  it  as  a  barbed 
arrow.  She  glanced  haughtily  at  Felix,  and  said  to  Celeste  : 
"Sit  there,  my  daughter,"  seating  herself  beside  Mme.  Thuil- 
lier  and  pointing  to  a  chair  at  her  side. 

Madame  Thuillier  sat  pensively  listening  to  the  noise  of  a 
witch's  Sabbath  made  by  her  sister-in-law,  a  real  horse  at  hard 
work,  lending  her  hand  to  help  the  two  servants  clear  the 
table,  take  everything  out  of  the  dining-room,  to  make  room 
for  the  dancers,  vociferating  like  the  captain  of  a  frigate  on 
his  quarter-deck  while  preparing  for  an  attack  :  "  Have  you 
any  currant  syrup?  Run  out  and  buy  some  orgeat!"  or, 
"  There's  not  enough  glasses !  and  too  little  eau  rougie  / 
(wine  and  water)  ;  take  those  six  bottles  of  vin  ordinaire  and 
jpake  more.     Keep  an  eye  on  Coffinet,  the  porter,  that  he 


It  were  useless  to  paint  a  ball  of  this  kind. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  143 

doesn't  get  at  anything  !  Caroline,  my  girl,  wait  at  the  side- 
board ;  you  shall  have  a  slice  of  ham  if  they  keep  it  up  till 
the  morning  hours.  But  no  waste,  mind  you.  Keep  an  eye 
on  everything.  Pass  the  broom  here,  and  do  you  put  more  oil 
in  the  lamps  ;  don't  have  any  accidents.  Arrange  the  remains 
of  the  dessert,  so  as  to  make  a  show  on  the  buffet !  Why 
doesn't  my  sister  come  and  give  us  a  lift  ?  I  can't  think  what 
she's  about — a  dawdle,  her !  My  God  !  how  slow  she  is ! 
Here,  take  away  these  chairs ;  they  need  all  the  room  they 
can  get ! ' ' 

The  announcement  of  a  dance  at  the  Thuilliers  had  got 
noised  about  in  the  Luxembourg.  As  a  consequence  the  salon 
was  full  of  Barniols,  Collevilles,  Phellions,  Laudigeois,  and 
the  like. 

"And  you,  Brigitte,  are  you  ready?  "  said  Colleville,  rush- 
ing into  the  dining-room;  "it  is  nine  o'clock.  They  are 
packed  as  close  as  herrings  in  the  salon  ;  the  whole  faubourg 
Saint-Antoine  is  rushing  in.  Can't  we  move  the  piano  in 
here?" 

It  were  useless  to  paint  a  ball  of  this  kind.  The  toilettes, 
faces,  conversations,  were  all  in  keeping  with  one  detail  which 
will  surely  suffice  the  least  lively  imagination  ;  they  were  all 
of  one  character  and  color.  They  passed  round,  on  tarnished 
shabby  trays,  common  glasses  filled  with  wine,  eau  roicgie,  and 
eau  sucrie.  At  longer  intervals  appeared  the  trays  bearing 
orgeat  and  syrups.  There  were  five  card-tables  for  twenty-five 
players  and  eighteen  dancing  couples.  At  one  o'clock  in  the 
morning  Mme.  Thuillier,  Mile.  Brigitte,  Mme.  Phellion  and 
her  husband  were  dragged  into  a  vulgar  country  dance  known 
as  ia  Boulangere,  in  which  Dutocq  figured  with  a  veil  over  his 
head,  and  looking  like  a  Kabyl.*  When  this  interminable 
round  had  lasted  for  a  full  hour,  and  Brigitte  announced 
supper,  they  wished  to  carry  her  in  triumph ;  but  she  per- 
ceived the  necessity  of  hiding  a  dozen  bottles  of  old  Bujr- 
*  Berber,  native  of  Barbary. 


144  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

gundy  wine.     Everybody  was  so  well  pleased,  matrons  as  well 
as  maids,  that  Thuillier  was  able  to  say  : 

"  Well,  this  morning,  we  little  thought  we  should  have  such 
fun  to-night." 

"One  never  has  so  much  pleasure,"  said  Cardot,  "than  at 
this  sort  of  impromptu  dance.  Don't  talk  to  me  of  parties 
at  which  each  one  is  on  his  ceremony  !  " 

This  opinion  is  an  axiom  among  the  middle-classes. 

"Ah,  bah  !  "  said  Madame  Minard,  "for  me  I  love  ray 
papa's  way.     I  love  those  of  my  mamma." 

"  We  did  not  mean  that  remark  for  you,  madame  ;  at  your 
home  pleasure  elects  to  reign,"  said  Dutocq. 

The  Boulang'ere  finished,  Theodose  drew  Dutocq  from  the 
buffet,  where  he  was  preparing  to  eat  a  slice  of  tongue,  and 
said: 

"  Let's  be  off,  for  to-morrow  we  must  see  Cerizet ;  we  need 
to  think  over  that  affair ;  it  is  not  quite  so  easily  managed  as 
Cerizet  seems  to  think." 

"And  why?"  asked  Dutocq,  eating  his  tongue  sandwich 
as  he  went  toward  the  salon. 

"  But  you  know  the  laws?" 

"  I  know  enough  to  be  aware  of  the  dangers  of  the  busi- 
ness. If  the  notary  wants  the  house  and  we  filch  it  from 
him,  he  has  ways  and  means  by  which  to  recover  it ;  he  can 
put  himself  in  the  skin  of  a  recorded  creditor.  By  the 
present  state  of  the  law  of  mortgage,  when  a  house  is  sold  at 
the  behest  of  creditors,  and  if  the  amount  realized  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  pay  all  creditors,  they  have  the  right  to  bid  it  in  ; 
and  the  notary,  once  caught,  will  be  twice  shy." 

"This  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  days  in  our  life,"  said 
Brigitte  to  her  brother,  when,  at  half-past  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  they  were  alone  in  the  deserted  salon.  "What  an 
honor  to  be  chosen  by  your  fellow-citizens." 

"You  don't  tumble  to  one  fact,  though,  Brigitte;  we  owe 
all  this,  my  child,  to  one  man " 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  145 

'*To  whom?" 

"  Our  friend  la  Peyrade." 

It  was  not  on  the  next  day,  Monday,  but  the  next  but  one, 
Tuesday,  that  Dutocq  and  Th^odose  called  on  Cerizet,  it 
having  been  called  to  the  latter's  attention  the  fact  that  on 
Sundays  and  Mondays  he  took  advantage  of  a  total  lack  of 
business,  these  days  being  devoted  to  dissipation  by  the  com- 
mon people.  The  house  to  which  their  steps  were  bent  is  a 
striking  feature  of  the  faubourg  Saint-Jacques.  It  has  never 
been  known,  and  no  commission  has  inquired  into,  why  or 
for  what  reason  or  cause  certain  quarters  of  Paris  sink  into 
vice  and  vulgarity,  morally  as  well  as  physically ;  how  the  old 
centres  of  the  Court  and  the  church,  the  Luxembourg  and  the 
Latin  quarter,  have  become  what  they  are  to-day,  in  spite  of 
the  finest  palaces  in  the  world,  in  spite  of  the  soaring  dome  of 
Sainte-Genevifeve,  that  of  Mansard's  on  the  Val-de-GrSce,  and 
the  charms  of  the  Jardin  des  Plantes.  One  asks  himself  why 
the  elegance  of  life  has  shaken  the  dust  of  that  quarter  from 
off  its  feet — the  Phellion  and  Thuillier  houses  swarm  here, 
and  boarding-houses  displace  the  formerly  so  numerous  noble 
and  religious  edifices ;  and  why  mud  and  dirty  forms  of  trade 
and  poverty  have  fastened  on  this  hill,  instead  of  spreading 
out  upon  the  plain  beyond  the  old  and  noble  city.  Once 
dead,  the  angel  whose  beneficent  sway  had  blessed  this  quarter, 
the  lowest  form  of  usury  rushed  in.  To  the  Councilor  Popi- 
not  succeeded  a  Cerizet ;  and,  stranger  still,  a  good  matter 
for  study,  the  effects  produced,  socially  speaking,  were  little 
different.  Popinot  loaned  without  interest,  and  was  willing 
to  lose ;  Cdrizet  lost  nothing,  and  compelled  the  unfortunates 
to  work  hard  and  learn  wisdom.  The  poor  adored  Popinot, 
but  they  did  not  hate  Cerizet.  Here  is  the  lowest  round  of 
Parisian  finance.  At  the  top  the  firm  of  Nucingen,  the  Kel- 
lers, the  du  Tillets,  the  Mongenods;  a  little  further  down, 
the  Palmas,  the  Gigonnets,  the  Gobsecks ;  still  lower,  the 
10 


146  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Samanou,  the  Chaboisseaus,  the  Barbels ;  then,  ending,  after 
the  pawnshops,  that  king  of  usurers,  who  spreads  his  nets  at 
the  corners  of  the  streets  to  entangle  all  the  various  forms  of 
misery  and  miss  none — that  sharp  sjnder,  Cerizet. 

This  house,  blotched  with  nitre,  the  walls  of  which  oozed  a 
fetid  humidity,  was  enameled  all  over  with  huge  slabs  of  moid. 
Standing  at  the  corner  of  the  Rue  des  Postes  and  the  Rue  des 
Poules,  it  showed  a  first-floor  partly  occupied  by  a  vendor  of 
the  commonest  kind  of  wine,  a  bright-red  bottle  painted  as  a 
sign  ;  the  windows  decorated  with  red  calico  curtains:  furnished 
with  a  leaden  counter  and  armed  with  formidable  bars. 

Above  the  door  of  an  odious  court  hung  a  frightful  lantern, 
on  which  was  painted  "  Night  Lodgings  Here."  The  outer 
walls  displayed  iron  cross-clamps,  apparently  to  show  the 
insecurity  of  the  building  of  which  the  wine  merchant  was  the 
owner,  and  who  occupied  the  entresol  in  addition  to  the  store. 
Madame  the  Widow  Poiret  {nee  Michonneau)  kept  the  fur- 
nished rooms,  which  composed  the  second,  third,  and  fourth 
floors,  arranged  in  chambers  for  the  use  of  laborers  and  the 
poorest  class  of  students. 

Cerizet  occupied  one  room  on  the  first  floor  and  one  in  the 
entresol,  to  which  he  ascended  by  an  interior  stairway  ;  this 
upper  room  looked  out  upon  a  horrible  courtyard,  from  which 
arose  mephitic  odors.  Cerizet  gave  forty  francs  for  his 
breakfast  and  dinner ;  he  thus  conciliated  the  hostess  of  this 
boarding-house ;  he  made  himself  acceptable  to  the  wine- 
dealer,  too,  by  procuring  him  an  enormous  trade  in  his  wines 
and  spirits,  profits  realized  before  the  sun  was  up.  The 
counting-rooms  of  the  Sieur  Cadenet  were  opened  even  before 
those  of  Cerizet,  who  began  his  operations  on  Tuesday,  by 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  in  summer  and  five  in  winter. 

The  opening  of  the  Great  Market,  which  so  many  of  his  male 
and  female  clients  attended,  determined  Cerizet's  early  hours 
for  his  frightful  transactions.  Cadenet,  in  consideration  of  the 
custom  of  Cerizet's  clients,  had  rented  to  him  the  two  rooms 


\ 


THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES.  147 

for  eighty  francs  a  year,  giving  him  a  lease  for  twelve  years,  and 
which  Cerizet  alone  had  the  right  to  break,  without  paying 
indemnity,  at  three  months'  notice.  Every  day  Cadenet 
brought  up  a  bottle  of  excellent  wine  for  the  dinner  of  this 
precious  tenant  j  and  when  Cerizet  was  "short,"  he  had  only 
to  say :  "Cadenet,  my  good  fellow,  let  me  have  a  hundred 
crowns."  But  he  always  faithfully  repaid  them.  Cadenet 
was  said  to  have  proof  that  the  Widow  Poiret  had  put  in 
Cerizet's  hands  some  two  thousand  francs  for  investment ;  this 
may  explain  his  rapid  increase  in  business. 

The  "  lender  by  the  little  week  "  was  perfectly  safe  in  his 
den,  where  he  could  have,  if  needed,  strong  assistance.  For 
on  certain  mornings  there  would  be  not  less  than  sixty  to 
eighty  people,  men  and  women,  either  in  the  wine-dealer's, 
in  the  court,  sitting  on  the  stairs,  or  in  his  office,  for  the 
distrustful  Cerizet  would  only  admit  six  persons  at  once.  The 
first  comers  were  the  first  served,  and,  as  each  one  was  only 
admitted  according  to  his  number,  the  wine-dealer  or  his  head- 
helper  chalked  it  on  the  men's  hats  and  on  the  backs  of  the 
women. 

They  would  sell,  like  cabmen  in  a  line,  one  number  high 
up  for  one  lower  down,  with  something  to  boot.  On  certain 
days  when  business  was  pressing  in  the  Market,  a  head  number 
would  fetch  as  much  as  a  glass  of  brandy  and  a  sou.  The 
numbers  as  they  went  out  of  C6rizet's  office  bawled  out  the 
succeeding  numbers,  and,  if  any  dispute  arose,  it  was  soon 
quieted  by  Cadenet  saying  : 

"When  you  succeed  in  getting  the  police  here,  will  you 
get  your  advances?     He  would  shut  up  shop." 

Cerizet's  name  was  He.  When,  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
an  unfortunate,  despairing  woman,  without  an  atom  of  bread 
in  the  house,  seeing  her  children  pale  with  hunger,  would 
come  to  borrow  ten  or  twenty  sous : 

"  Is  He  here  ?  "  she  would  anxiously  ask  the  wine-dealer  or 
his  head-helper. 


148  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Cadenet,  who  seemed  like  an  angel  to  these  poor  mothers, 
would  reply : 

"  He  told  me  you  were  an  honest  woman  and  that  I  might 
give  you  forty  sous.  You  know  what  you  must  do."  And, 
a  strange  thing,  He  was  blessed,  even  as  had  been  Popinot 
before  him. 

But  they  cursed  Cerizet  on  Sunday  morning,  when  accounts 
were  straightened  up;  they  cursed  him  still  more  on  Saturday, 
when  it  became  necessary  to  work  in  order  to  pay  the  sum 
borrowed,  with  interest.  Still  he  was  Providence,  he  was  God, 
from  Tuesday  to  Friday,  every  week. 

His  office  was  formerly  the  kitchen  of  the  next  story ;  the 
floor  was  bare,  smoke  still  discolored  the  once  whitewashed 
walls  and  ceiling,  and  the  stone  floor  retained  and  exhaled 
moisture.  The  window  was  furnished  with  inside  shutters 
of  iron  and  enormously  thick,  and  fastened  with  an  iron-bar. 
The  door  commanded  respect  by  a  similar  armor. 

At  the  end  of  the  room,  in  an  angle,  was  a  spiral  stair 
brought  from  some  demolislied  store  and  bought  by  Cadenet 
on  the  Rue  Chapon,  who  had  fitted  it  into  the  entresol.  To 
prevent  all  communication  with  the  second  floor,  Cerizet  had 
stipulated  that  the  door  opening  on  to  the  landing  should 
be  walled  up.  The  place  had  thus  became  a  fortress.  He 
shaved  himself  before  a  glass  on  the  mantel.  He  owned  two 
pairs  of  muslin  sheets  and  six  cotton  shirts;  the  rest  of  his 
attire  being  of  equal  elegance.  Once  or  twice  Cadenet  had 
seen  Cerizet  dressed  as  a  fashionable  dandy  ;  so  it  must  be 
that  he  kept  hidden  away  in  the  bottom  drawer  of  his 
bureau  a  complete  disguise  in  which  he  could  go  to  the  opera, 
or  see  society  and  yet  not  be  recognized,  for,  only  for  his 
voice,  Cadenet  would  have  asked  him:  "  What  can  I  do  for 
you?" 

Cerizet,  Cadenet  and  his  two  helpers  lived  in  the  bosom  of 
frightful  misery,  but  preserved  the  calmness  of  undertakers 
in  the  midst  of  the  heirs  of  the  deceased,  of  old  sergeants  of  the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  149 

Guard  among  heaps  of  the  dead  ;  they  no  more  shuddered 
when  they  heard  the  cries  of  the  famishing  or  of  despair  than  do 
surgeons  groan  when  they  hear  their  patients  in  the  hospitals ; 
they  said,  as  the  soldiers  and  the  nurses  said  :  "  Have  pa- 
tience, a  little  courge  !  Be  brave  !  No  use  to  kill  yourself ! 
One  can  get  used  to  anything;  have  a  little  reason  !  " 

Although  Cerizet  took  the  precaution  of  hiding  the  money 
necessary  for  his  morning's  operations  in  the  double  scat  of 
the  chair  on  which  he  sat,  never  taking  out  more  than  one 
hundred  francs  at  a  time,  and  always  between  the  exit  of  one 
batch  of  clients  and  the  entry  of  another — keeping  his  door 
locked  and  not  opening  it  until  the  cash  was  in  his  pocket — 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  he  need  have  feared  nothing  from  the 
numerous  despairs  which  found  their  way  to  this  rendezvous 
of  money.  Undoubtedly  there  are  many  different  ways  of 
being  honest  and  virtuous,  and  the  "  Monograph  of  Virtue  "* 
has  no  other  basis  than  this  social  axiom.  Cerizet  depended  on 
the  honor  of  his  clients ;  he  never  made  a  mistake,  nor  did 
his  poor  borrowers ;  it  was  the  reciprocity  of  capital  and 
desires.  Many  times  Cerizet,  who  was  born  one  of  the 
people,  had  corrected  one  week  the  unseen  error  of  a  previous 
week,  to  the  benefit  of  some  poor  devil  who  had  not  dis- 
covered it.  He  went  by  the  name  of  dog,  but  he  was  an 
honest  dog ;  his  word  in  the  midst  of  that  city  of  sorrows  was 
sacred.     A  woman  died  who  owed  thirty  francs. 

**  There  are  my  profits,"  said  he  to  the  assemblage,  "  and 
you  howl  at  me  !  Nevertheless  I  shall  not  trouble  the  kids  ; 
in  fact,  Cadenet  has  taken  them  bread  and  piquette'*  (wine- 
lees  or  paltry  wine). 

Since  that,  a  smart  business  stroke,  it  was  said  of  him  in 
the  faubourgs : 

**  He's  not  such  a  bad  sort." 

*  The  Monographie  de  la  vertu;  a  work  in  the  same  vein  as  the  Phys^ 
iologie  du  marriage,  on  which  the  author  has  been  working  since  1833, 
when  it  was  first  announced. — Author's  Note. 


160  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

The  'Moan  by  the  little  week,"  as  heard  from  Cerizet's 
customers,  is  not,  taking  all  things  into  account,  so  cruel  a 
system  as  the  pawnbroker's.  Cerizet  gave  ten  francs  on 
Tuesday  on  condition  that  he  received  twelve  on  Sunday 
morning.  In  five  weeks  he  doubled  his  capital,  but  he  had 
frequent  compositions.  His  kindness  consisted  in  accepting, 
from  time  to  time,  eleven  francs  and  fifty  centimes,  and  the 
rest  stood  over.  When  he  loaned  fifty  francs  for  sixty  to  a 
little  huckster,  or  a  hundred  francs  for  one  hundred  and 
twenty  to  a  vendor  of  peat,  he  ran  some  risk. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  Rue  des  Poules  by  way  of  the 
Rue  des  Postes,  Theodose  and  Dutocq  saw  a  great  crowd  of 
men  and  women,  and,  by  the  light  from  the  lamps  in  the 
wine-dealer's  windows,  they  were  horrified  at  seeing  that  mass 
of  red  faces,  seamed,  grimy,  and  haggard  ;  dejected  by  suf- 
fering, withered,  distorted,  bloated  with  wine,  emaciated  with 
spirits  ;  some  resigned,  some  threatening,  some  jeering,  some 
sarcastic,  and  others  stupefied,  all  clad  in  the  miserable  rags 
which  no  caricaturist  can  surpass  in  his  most  extravagant 
phantasies. 

"  I  shall  be  recognized,"  said  Theodose.  "  We  were  fool- 
ish to  come  here  in  the  midst  of  his  business." 

"  Then  let  us  all  meet  at  the  Cheval  Rouge,  on  the  Tour- 
nelle  quay,"  replied  Dutocq.  "It  won't  matter  about  them 
seeing  me." 

Dutocq  went  alone  into  the  midst  of  that  congress  of  beg- 
gars, and  he  heard  his  own  name  from  mouth  to  mouth,  for  it 
was  almost  impossible  that  some  jail-bird  should  be  met  who 
was  not  familiar  with  his  justice-court,  just  as  sure  as  Theodose 
would  have  encountered  some  client. 

In  these  quarters  the  justice  of  the  peace  is  the  supreme 
tribunal ;  all  legal  authority  is  centred  in  his  court,  especially 
since  legislation  has  made  his  decisions  final  in  all  cases  in- 
volving not  more  than  one  hundred  and  forty  francs.  A 
passage  was  made  for  the  clerk,  who  was  not  feared  less  than 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  181 

the  judge  himself.  He  saw  women  on  the  stairs,  a  horrible 
display  like  flowers  ranged  on  stages,  amongst  them  were 
some  young,  pale,  and  suffering.  The  diversity  of  colors  in 
fichus,  bonnets,  dresses,  and  aprons  rendered  the  comparison 
more  exact,  perhaps,  than  it  should  be.  Dutocq  was  nearly 
asphyxiated  when  he  opened  the  door  of  the  room  in  which 
already  sixty  persons  had  left  their  odors. 

"Your  number!  the  number!"   shouted  a  host  of  voices. 

"Hold  your  jaw!  "  cried  a  hoarse  voice  from  the  street, 
"  that's  the  judge's  pen  !  " 

"It  can't  be  done  like  that,  Daddy  Lantimeche,"  Cerizet 
was  saying  to  a  tall,  old  man,  who  appeared  to  be  abouf 
seventy,  standing  in  front  of  him,  a  red  woolen  cap  in  his 
hand,  showing  a  bald  head,  and  a  breast  covered  with  white 
hairs  visible  through  his  shabby  blouse.  "  Tell  me  what  you 
want  a  hundred  francs  for?  even  to  get  back  one  hundred 
and  twenty  it  can't  be  let  loose  like  a  dog  in  a  church." 

The  five  other  customers  present,  among  whom  were  two 
women  nursing  infants,  one  suckling  her  baby,  the  other  one 
knitting,  burst  out  laughing. 

When  he  saw  Dutocq,  Cerizet  rose  respectfully  and  went 
hastily  to  meet  him. 

"You  can  have  time  to  think  about  it;  for,  see  you,  I'm 
not  satisfied — a  hundred  francs  demanded  by  a  blacksmith's 
helper." 

**  But  it's  to  start  an  invention,"  cried  the  old  workman. 

"An  invention  and  a  hundred  francs,  you  don't  know  the 
laws;  it  takes  two  thousand  francs,"  said  Dutocq.  "You 
must  get  a  patent,  you  need  backers." 

"That's  the  truth,"  said  Cerizet,  who  reckoned  on  such 
chances  ;  "  go  now,  daddy,  and  come  again  to-morrow  morn- 
ing at  six  o'clock ;  we  can't  talk  invention  before  others." 

Cerizet  listened  to  Dutocq,  whose  first  words  were  : 

"  If  all  goes  right,  half  profits." 

"  Why  did  you  get  up  as  early  as  this  to  say  that  to  me  ?  " 


162  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

asked  the  distrustful  Cerizet,  much  annoyed  at  the  mention 
of  half  profits.     "  You  could  have  seen  me  at  the  office." 

And  he  looked  askance  at  Dutocq,  who,  while  telling  him 
how  matters  stood,  speaking  of  Claparon  and  the  necessity 
of  pushing  Theodose's  affair  as  rapidly  as  possible,  seemed 
confused. 

"You  could  have  seen  me  at  the  office,"  replied  Cerizet, 
as  he  conducted  Dutocq  to  the  door. 

"There's  one,"  said  he,  resuming  his  seat,  "who  seems  to 
me  to  have  blown  out  the  lantern  so  that  I  may  not  see  clearly. 
Well,  I'll  give  up  that  job  as  copyist.  Ah !  your  turn,  my 
little  mother!"  he  exclaimed.  "You  invent  children  I 
That's  amusing,  too.  It's  a  good  enough  game,  and  they  all 
doit." 

It  is  useless  to  recount  the  conversation  which  took  place 
between  the  three  associates,  the  more  so  as  they  alluded  to 
the  arrangements  to  be  the  basis  of  certain  confidences  be- 
tween Theodose  and  Mile.  Thuillier ;  but  it  is  essential  to 
say  that  la  Peyrade's  craftiness  seemed  to  dismay  Cerizet  and 
Dutocq.  Now,  the  banker  of  the  poor,  finding  his  antagonists 
such  strong  players,  resolved  to  make  sure  of  his  own  stake 
at  the  first  chance.  To  win  the  game  by  cheating  expert 
gamblers  is  an  inspiration  to  the  votaries  of  the  green-cloth. 
From  this  came  the  terrible  blow  that  la  Peyrade  was  destined 
to  receive. 

He  had  his  hands  filled  in  following  the  twinings  of  Dutocq 
and  Cerizet ;  they  were  both  experts  in  humbug.  An  immo- 
bile face  like  Talleyrand's  would  have  made  them  break  at 
once  with  the  Provencal,  it  was  necessary  to  make  a  show  of 
confidence  and  of  playing  above-board,  which  is  certainly  the 
acme  of  art.  To  delude  the  pit  is  an  every-day  triumph,  but 
to  take  in  Mile.  Mars,  Frederick  Lemaitre,  Potier,  Talma, 
and  Monrose  is  the  height  of  acting. 

The  day  after  this  conference  la  Peyrade  dined  with  the 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  158 

Thuilliers,  and  on  the  pretext  of  paying  a  visit  carried  off  his 
wife,  leaving  Theodose  with  Brigitte.  Neither  Theodose,  nor 
Thuillier,  nor  his  sister  were  duped  by  this  comedy ;  but  the 
old  buck  of  the  Empire  gave  it  the  name  of  diplomacy. 

"  Young  man,  do  not  take  advantage  of  my  sister's  inno- 
cence, respect  it,"  said  Thuillier  as  he  departed. 

To  get  the  upper  hand  of  Brigitte  would  be  in  this  long 
struggle  like  carrying  the  great  redoubt  of  the  Moskowa. 
But  it  was  necessary  to  possess  that  old  maid  as  the  devil  was 
said  to  possess  man  in  the  Middle  Ages,  and  to  prevent  any 
possible  awakening  by  her.  He  had  studied  and  measured 
the  ground  for  the  past  three  days.  Flattery,  that  almost  in- 
fallible means  in  adroit  hands,  would  not  be  listened  to  by  a 
woman  who  for  a  very  long  time  had  known  that  she  was  with- 
out beauty.  But  to  a  man  of  powerful  will  nothing  is  impreg- 
nable ;  the  Lamarques  could  never  have  failed  to  carry  Caprea. 

"You  have  shown  your  affection  for  us,"  said  Brigitte, 
when  they  were  alone. 

"Your  brother  has  told  you?" 

"  No;  he  merely  said  you  wished  to  speak  with  me." 

"Yes,  mademoiselle,  for  you  are  the  man  of  the  family; 
but  in  reflecting  over  this  matter  I  find  a  number  of  dangers, 
such  as  a  man  risks  only  for  those  who  are  near  and  dear  to 
him.  A  whole  fortune  is  involved,  thirty  to  forty  thousand 
francs  a  year,  and  not  in  the  least  speculative — a  freehold. 
The  need  of  giving  a  fortune  to  Thuillier  fascinated  me  from 
the  first.  I  told  him  frankly  that  in  working  for  his  interests 
I  advanced  my  own,  as  I  will  later  also  explain  to  you.  If 
he  wishes  to  be  a  deputy,  two  things  are  absolutely  necessary : 
to  comply  with  the  law  as  to  assessment,  then  to  win  some 
kind  of  celebrity  for  his  name.  If  I  push  my  devotion  to  the 
extent  of  assisting  him  in  writing  a  book  on  some  political 
question — no  matter  what — so  as  to  get  him  that  celebrity,  I 
must  needs  think  of  his  property  also  j  it  would  be  absurd  of 
you  to  give  him  this  house." 


154  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  What!  for  my  brother?  Why,  I'd  put  it  in  his  name  to- 
morrow," exclaimed  Brigitte;   "you  don't  know  me." 

"I  do  not  entirely  know  you,"  said  la  Peyrade,  *' but  I 
know  enough  to  cause  me  to  regret  that  I  did  not  acquaint 
you  with  the  whole  business  since  its  origin." 

"But  this  business,"  said  Brigitte,  "of  what  nature  are  the 
obstacles?" 

"  Mademoiselle,  the  difficulty  is  existent  in  my  conscience 
— I  certainly  could  not  help  you  in  this  matter  without  first 
consulting  my  confessor.  To  the  world,  oh,  the  affair  is  per- 
fectly legal,  and  I  am — you  understand  me — an  authorized 
barrister,  a  member  of  the  bar  controlled  by  most  rigid  rules ; 
I  am  incapable  of  suggesting  an  enterprise  which  might  give 
rise  to  blame.  My  excuse,  first,  is  that  I  don't  accept  a  single 
Hard  out  of  it." 

Brigitte  was  on  a  gridiron,  her  face  was  aflame ;  she  broke 
her  wool,  knotted  it  together  again,  and  did  not  know  how  to 
contain  herself. 

"One  can't  do  that,"  said  she;  "in  this  day  a  rental  of 
forty  thousand  francs  means  a  property  costing  one  million 
eight  hundred  thousand  francs." 

"  Well,  you  shall  see  the  property  and  estimate  its  probable 
revenue,  of  which  I  can  make  Thuillier  the  owner  for  fifty 
thousand  francs." 

"Well,  then,  you  only  get  us  that !  "  exclaimed  Brigitte, 
wound  up  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the  key  of  her  avarice.  "  Go 
on,  my  dear  Monsieur  Theodose " 

She  stopped  short. 

"Well,  mademoiselle." 

"You  will  perhaps  have  labored  to  your  own  advan- 
tage." 

"Ah!  if  Thuillier  has  told  you  my  secret,  I  leave  your 
house." 

Brigitte  looked  up. 

"  Has  he  told  you  that  I  love  Cdleste?  " 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  155 

"No;  as  I'm  an  honest  woman!"  exclaimed  Brigitte; 
"but  I  myself  was  just  about  to  speak  of  her." 

"  And  to  offer  her  to  me?  Oh  !  no,  may  God  forgive  us; 
I  want  her  only  of  her  free  choice.  No,  no,  all  I  ask  of  you 
is  your  good-will  and  favor.  Promise  me  that,  treat  me  as  a 
son ;  should  you  do  this  I  will  abide  by  your  decision  in  this 
matter;  I  will  not  consult  ray  confessor.  You  can  help  me 
in  so  many  ways,  you  could  attend  to  the  details  of  our  for- 
tune, so  that  I  need  not  neglect  anything  that  would  tend  to 
my  political  career.  I  admired  you  on  Sunday  evening. 
How  you  made  things  fly  ;  I  guess  the  dining-room  was  cleared 
out  in  ten  minutes.  Without  leaving  your  home,  all  was  at 
hand  for  the  refreshments  and  supper.  *  There,'  said  I  to 
myself,  *  is  a  mistress-woman.'  " 

Brigitte's  nostrils  dilated,  she  breathed  in  the  words  of 
the  young  lawyer.  He  looked  askance  at  her  to  enjoy  his 
triumph ;  he  had  twanged  the  chord  responsive. 

"Now  here  is  where  we  stand,  my  dear  aunt,  for  you  are 
an  aunt  in  some  sort " 

"  Hush  you,  naughty  fellow  !  "  said  Brigitte,  "  and  go  on." 

"Well,  the  matter  crudely  is  this:  remark  that  I  com- 
promise myself  by  telling  you  these  secrets,  for  they  are  con- 
fided to  me  as  an  attorney.  We  are  both,  therefore,  as  it 
were,  committing  a  crime — Use-cabinet  or  legal  high  treason. 
A  notary  of  Paris  (although  the  law  does  not  permit  specula- 
tion by  notaries)  was  in  copartnership  with  an  architect ; 
they  bought  land  and  built  upon  it ;  just  now  they  are  embar- 
rassed— the  bottom  dropped  out  of  things.  Among  these 
houses  is  an  excellent  one  not  quite  finished ;  this  must  con- 
sequently be  sold  at  a  great  loss,  so  that  the  price  asked  is  only 
one  hundred  thousand  francs,  although  the  land  and  building 
cost  at  the  least  four  hundred  thousand.  The  interior  to 
complete  will  run  up  to  fifty  thousand  more.  Now,  by  its 
location,  this  house,  when  completed,  will  bring  in  at  least 
forty  thousand  francs,  exclusive  of  taxes." 

T 


166  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Well,  and  of  what  does  the  difficulty  consist?" 

"Just  this:  the  notary  wants  to  save  this  piece  of  cake 
from  the  wreck  he  must  abandon  ;  under  the  name  of  a  friend 
he  is  the  creditor  who  petitions  for  the  sale  of  the  property  by 
the  assignee  of  the  bankruptcy.  It  has  not  gone  into  court, 
the  costs  would  count  up  so  rapidly ;  the  sale  is  by  voluntary 
agreement.  This  notary's  friend  is  a  client  of  mine;  my 
client  is  a  poor  devil  who  says  to  me  :  '  There's  a  fortune  to 
be  made  out  of  that  house  by  tricking  the  notary.'  " 

"That's  fair  in  trade,"  said  Brigitte  quickly. 

"If  this  were  the  only  obstacle,"  answered  Theodose,  "it 
would  be  as  a  friend  of  mine  said  to  a  pupil  of  his  who  com- 
plained of  the  difficulties  encountered  in  producing  a  master- 
piece of  painting :  *  My  dear  boy,  were  it  not  so  footmen  would 
paint.'  But,  mademoiselle,  if  we  get  the  better  of  this  notary 
— for  he  deserves  it,  he  has  compromised  many  private  for- 
tunes— it  might  be  hard  to  do  it  at  a  second  turn.  When  one 
purchases  real  estate,  that  is  at  a  low  price  at  forced  sale,  the 
mortagees  have  the  right,  until  the  expiration  of  a  certain 
fixed  time,  to  buy  it  in  ;  that  is  to  offer  a  larger  sum  and  keep 
the  property.  If  this  trickster  can't  be  tricked  as  to  the  sale 
being  a  genuine  one  and  hindered  from  raising  the  price  until 
the  time  limit  expires,  well,  then,  some  other  scheme  must  be 
worked.  But  is  this  business  legal  ?  Shall  a  man  undertake 
such  for  the  benefit  of  a  family  he  seeks  to  enter?  That  is  a 
question  my  mind  has  been  revolving  for  the  past  three  days." 

It  must  be  admitted  that  this  made  Brigitte  pause ;  Theo- 
dose put  forth  the  last  resource : 

"Take  tonight  for  reflection;  to-morrow  we  will  talk  it 
over," 

"Listen,  my  boy,"  said  Brigitte,  looking  almost  lovingly 
at  the  lawyer  ;  "  the  first  thing  is  to  sec  the  house.  Where 
is  it?" 

"  Near  the  Madeleine.  In  ten  years  that  will  be  the  heart 
of  Paris.     And,  you  know,  land  has  been  in  request  there 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  157 

since  1819;  du  Tillet  the  banker  made  his  fortune  there. 
Birotteau,  the  perfumer,  Roguin,  the  notary,  were  ruined  by 
speculating  there  too  wildly." 

"  Can  we  go  there  to-morrow?  " 

"Dear  aunt,  I  am  at  your  command." 

"  Mercy  me  !  don't  call  me  that  before  folk.  As  to  this 
business,"  she  went  on,  "one  must  see  the  house  before  de- 
ciding." 

"It  has  six  stories;  nine  windows  in  front,  a  fine  court- 
yard, four  stores  and  stands  on  a  corner.  Oh  !  that  notary 
is  smart.  But  events  may  occur  that  will  depreciate  the 
Funds,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two,  it  is  a  fabulous  price ;  I 
should  hurry  to  sell  your  own  and  Madame  Thuillier's  and 
purchase  this  fine  piece  of  property  for  Thuillier;  and  you 
could  recover  the  fortune  of  that  poor,  pious  creature  by  the 
savings  from  the  rental." 

Brigitte  licked  her  lips ;  she  saw  how  she  might  keep  her 
own  fortune  intact,  and  enrich  her  brother  by  making  this 
use  of  Mme.  Thuillier's  fortune. 

"  My  brother  is  right,"  said  she  to  Theodose,  "  you  are  a 
remarkable  man,  you  will  go  far " 

"And  he  will  march  before  me,"  replied  Theodose,  with 
an  artlessness  that  captivated  the  old  maid. 

"  Till  to-morrow,  then,  toward  noon,  when  we  will  view  the 
house,"  said  Brigitte,  holding  out  her  hand  for  Thdodose  to 
shake ;  but  he  pressed  upon  it  a  kiss,  respectful  and  tender. 

"Adieu,  my  boy,"  said  she,  as  she  reached  the  door;  "it 
is  God  himself  who  has  placed  him  in  our  house,"  she  added 
to  herself. 

Five  days  later,  in  the  month  of  April,  the  ordinance  was 
issued  for  the  nomination  of  a  member  of  the  Municipal 
Council;  it  was  inserted  in  the  "Moniteur"  and  placarded 
all  about  Paris.  Brigitte  was  in  a  charming  humor ;  she  had 
verified  the  statements  of  Theodose ;  the  property  had  been 
inspected   by   old    Chaffaroux,  a   wealthy   ex-contractor,  an 


158  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

uncle  of  the  Comtesse  du  Bruel,  formerly  Tullia  the  dancer, 
at  one  time  a  crony  of  Flavie  Colleville's,  who  had  been 
privately  requested  lo  do  this  office  for  Brigitte.  Poor  Grin- 
dot,  the  architect  who  was  interested  with  the  notary  in  this 
speculation,  thought  he  was  being  employed  in  the  interests 
of  the  contractor;  the  old  fellow  thought  he  was  acting  in 
the  interest  of  his  niece,  Flavie,  and  he  passed  it  as  in  his 
opinion  only  thirty  thousand  francs  would  be  necessary  to 
thoroughly  finish  the  property.  Thus  in  one  week  la  Peyrade 
became  Brigitte's  god  ;  she  proved  to  him  that  fortune  should 
be  seized  when  it  presented  itself. 

"Beside,  if  there  is  any  sin  in  the  affair,"  said  she,  as  they 
stood  in  the  middle  of  the  garden,  "  you  can  confess  it." 

"There,  my  friend,"  said  Thuillier,  "what,  the  devil! 
a  man  owes  himself  to  his  relations." 

"I  have  decided  to  do  it,"  said  la  Peyrade.  "Only,  my 
good  friend,  and  you  too,  my  little  aunt,  keep  absolute 
secrecy  regarding  me  in  this  matter;  and  do  not  pay  heed  to 
the  calumnies  which  the  men  I  nip  will  serve  out  against  me. 
I  shall  become,  see  you,  a  vagabond,  ambitious,  a  swindler,  a 
Jesuit — can  you  hear  such  unmoved?" 

"Be  easy,"  said  Brigitte. ^ 

From  that  day  forward  Thuillier  was  "  my  good  friend." 
Good  friend  was  the  name  given  him  by  Theodose,  with  a  vari- 
ety of  inflections  of  voice  fitted  to  the  occasion.  My  "  little 
aunt,"  a  name  which  vastly  flattered  Brigitte,  was  only  used 
by  him  in  the  privacy  of  the  family  circle.  The  activity  of 
the  Thuillier  workers  was  extreme.  Great  and  small  put  their 
hands  to  the  plough.  On  April  30th,  Thuillier  was  elected 
by  an  immense  majority  and  was  proclaimed  member  of  the 
Council-general  of  the  department  of  the  Seine.  On  May 
ist  he  went  to  the  Tuileries  with  the  municipal  body  to  con- 
gratulate the  King  on  his  fSte  day.  He  returned  radiant. 
He  had  trod  the  path  of  Minard. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  159 

Ten  days  later  a  yellow  placard  announced  the  sale  of  the 
house  after  due  publication  ;  the  price  of  upset  being  seventy- 
five  thousand  francs  ;  the  final  adjudication  to  be  made  on 
July  ist.  On  this  matter  Claparon  and  Cerizet  had  an  argu- 
ment by  which  the  latter  pledged  fifteen  thousand  francs  to 
Claparon,  if  he  kept  the  notary  deceived  until  the  expiration 
of  the  time  needed  to  withdraw  the  property.  This  money  was 
to  go  through  la  Peyrade's  hands,  being  furnished  by  Mile. 
Thuillier.  The  young  notary,  one  of  those  who  run  after 
fortune  instead  of  leisurely  following  it,  saw  another  future 
ahead;  he  was  trying  to  so  manage  his  present  affairs  as  to  be 
at  liberty  to  lay  hands  thereon.  He  had  an  interview  with 
Claparon  at  midnight  at  which  he  offered  him  ten  thousand 
france  to  secure  him,  this  amount  only  to  be  paid  on  receipt 
of  a  counter-deed  from  the  nominal  purchaser  of  the  property. 
He  felt  sure  of  his  man,  for  he  knew  that  Claparon  needed  this 
amount  to  extricate  himself  from  his  liabilities. 

Then  Cerizet  offered  twelve  thousand  francs  to  Claparon 
and  at  once  demanded  fifteen  thousand  from  la  Peyrade,  in- 
tending to  put  the  balance  in  his  own  pocket.  All  these  scenes 
between  the  four  men  were  seasoned  with  pretty  words  about 
sentiment  and  honesty,  on  the  honor  that  men  owed  to  each 
other  in  business  transactions.  Meanwhile  Theodose  was 
assisting  the  new  councilor  in  writing  his  masterly  work;  he 
became  absolutely  necessary  to  him  ;  he  was  each  day  more 
convinced  that  Theodose's  marriage  to  Celeste  was  a  ne- 
cessity. Now  Theodose  made  an  admirable  "  friend  of  the 
family;"  he  disarmed  jealousy  by  his  manner  of  effacing 
himself;  he  was  more  like  a  new  piece  of  furniture  than  any- 
thing else ;  this  allayed  all  the  suspicion  of  the  Mindards  and 
Phellions,  who  fondly  thought  he  had  been  found  too  light  in 
the  balance  by  both  Brigitte  and  Thuillier, 

*'  He  thinks  that  perhaps  my  sister  may  put  him  in  her 
will,"  said  Thuillier  to  Minard,  one  day;  "he  doesn't  know 
her,  though." 


160  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

This  speech,  prompted  by  Theodose,  calmed  Minard's  dis- 
trust. It  gave  him  what  he  wanted  more  than  all,  the  con- 
tempt of  his  antagonists.  For  four  months  in  succession  his 
face  maintained  the  torpid  expression  of  a  snake  which  has 
swallowed  and  is  digesting  its  prey. 

''And  you,"  said  he  to  Flavic,  the  evening  before  the 
purchase  of  the  house,  "don't  you  pity  me?  A  man  like 
me,  creeping  like  a  cat,  having  to  choke  down  every  retort, 
chewing  my  gall,  submitting  to  your  rebuffs." 

"My  friend,  my  child,"  said  Flavie,  who  still  remained 
undecided  about  him. 

All  this  time  Felix  Phellion  was  instructing  young  Colle- 
ville.  Flavie  was  for  ever  making  for  him  either  a  purse,  a 
pair  of  slippers,  a  cigar  case,  and  so  on  for  the  happy  young 
man.  Old  Phellion  rubbed  his  hands  as  he  realized  how 
things  were ;  he  already  saw  Celeste  wedded  to  his  fine,  his 
noble  Felix. 

As  stated,  the  final  sale  was  fixed  for  the  end  of  July. 
Theodose,  therefore,  advised  Mile.  Thuillier  to  be  prepared 
with  the  necessary  cash  ;  accordingly,  she  sold  out  her  own 
and  sister-in-law's  Funds.  The  catastrophe  of  the  treaty  of 
the  four  powers,  an  insult  to  France,  but  now  a  matter  of  his- 
tory, is  necessary  to  be  retold  that  the  reader  may  thus 
understand  that  Funds  declined  from  July  to  the  end  of 
August ;  this  was  caused  by  the  prospect  of  war,  a  fear 
which  M.  Thiers  did  too  much  to  promote;  they  fell  twenty 
francs  and  Three-per-cents  went  down  to  sixty.  This  also  had 
an  evil  influence  on  real  estate  in  Paris,  which  rapidly  de- 
clined. All  this  caused  Theodose  to  be  regarded  as  a 
prophet.  Thus,  when  the  purchase  was  completed,  Thuil- 
lier's  importance  was  magnified  tenfold.  Meanwhile,  Theo- 
dose, assured  of  his  supremacy,  put  on  a  rather  less  servile 
manner.     Brigitte  and  Thuillier  said  to  him  once : 

"  Nothing  can  take  from  you  our  esteem  ;  in  this  house  you 
are  in  your  own  home ;  the  opinion  of  Minard  and  Phellion, 


THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES.  161 

which  you  seem  to  fear,  is  not  of  more  value  to  us  than  a  line 
by  Victor  Hugo.     Let  them  talk  ;  hold  your  head  up  !  " 

She  saw  her  brother  secure  of  his  forty  thousand  francs  per 
annum,  exclusive  of  his  pension  ;  she  had  reinvested  Mme. 
Thuillier's  fortune  in  Three-per-cents  at  sixty,  which  brought 
her  in  twelve  thousand  francs.  Her  own  balance  was  also 
thus  invested  and  was  of  the  annual  value  of  ten  thousand 
francs ;  for  the  future  she  would  only  invest  in  the  Funds  ;  she 
had  now,  herself,  a  total  income  of  eighteen  thousand  francs, 
beside  the  house  in  which  they  lived  and  which  she  valued  at 
eight  thousand. 

**  We  are  worth  quite  as  much  as  the  Minards,"  she  said. 

"Don't  be  too  ready  to  sing  victory,"  said  Thcodose  ; 
**  the  right  of  exemption  does  not  expire  for  a  week  yet.  I 
have  attended  to  your  affairs,  but  my  own  are  in  an  awful 
mess." 

"  My  dear  boy,  you  have  friends  !  "  cried  Brigitte;  "and 
if  you  ever  need  twenty-five  louis,  you  can  find  them  here." 

Theodose  at  this  speech  exchanged  a  smile  of  meaning 
with  Thuillier,  who  hastened  to  take  him  off,  saying  to  him  : 

"Excuse  my  poor  sister  ;  she  sees  the  world  through  the 
mouth  of  a  bottle.  But  if  you  want  twenty-five  thousand 
francs,  I  will  lend  them  to  you — out  of  my  first  rents,"  he 
added. 

"Thuillier,  I  have  a  rope  around  my  neck,"  cried  Theo- 
dose. "  Ever  since  I  have  been  a  lawyer  I  have  had  to  give 
acceptances.  But  mum,  not  a  word,"  added  Theodose, 
frightened  himself  at  having  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag. 
"I'm  in  the  clutches  of  scoundrels,  but  I  hope  to  best  them." 

In  telling  this  secret  Theodose  had  a  double  purpose :  first, 
to  test  Thuillier,  next  to  avert  a  terrible  blow,  liable  at  any 
day  to  be  dealt  him  in  the  secret,  sinister  struggle  in  which 
he  was  engaged.     This  was  it : 

In  the  midst  of  the  ieep  poverty  through  which  he  had 
passed,  none  but  Cerizet  had  gone  to  see  him  in  the  garret 
11 


162  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

where,  in  cold  weather,  he  had  lain  in  bed  for  lack  of  clothes. 
He  had  but  one  shirt  left.  For  three  days  he  lived  on  one 
loaf  of  bread,  carefully  cut  into  measured  pieces,  and  asking 
himself:  "What  next?"  Just  then  his  former  protector 
appeared,  just  pardoned  out  of  prison.  Of  the  projects 
which  these  two  men  then  formed  before  the  fire  of  kindling- 
wood,  one  wrapped  in  his  landlady's  bed-quilt,  the  other  in 
his  infamy,  it  is  needless  to  recapitulate.  The  following  day, 
C6rizet,  who  had  talked  with  Dutocq,  returned,  bringing 
with  him  a  pair  of  trousers,  a  vest,  coat,  hat,  and  boots,  all 
purchased  in  the  Temple ;  then  carried  him  off  to  dinner. 
The  Provencal  ate  at  Pinson's,  Rue  de  I'Ancienne  Comedie, 
half  of  a  dinner  costing  forty-seven  francs.  At  dessert,  be- 
tween two  glasses  of  wine,  Cerizet  said  to  his  friend  : 

"  Will  you  sign  acceptances  for  me  for  fifty  thousand  francs, 
giving  yourself  the  title  of  barrister?  " 

"You  couldn't  raise  five  thousand  francs  on  them,"  re- 
plied Theodose. 

"That  doesn't  concern  you;  you'll  pay  all  right;  this  is 
our  business,  or  monsieur's  who  has  just  regaled  us.  It  is 
an  affair  in  which  you  risk  nothing,  but  by  which  you  will 
obtain  the  title  of  barrister,  a  good  clientage,  and  the  hand  of 
a  girl  in  marriage  of  the  age  of  an  old  dog,  and  who  is  worth 
not  less  than  twenty  to  thirty  thousand  francs  a  year.  Neither 
Dutocq  nor  myself  can  marry  her  ;  we  must  rig  you  up,  give 
you  the  air  of  an  honorable  man,  feed  and  lodge  you,  and  fix 
you  up  generally.  Therefore,  we  shall  need  our  guarantee. 
I  don't  say  this  for  myself,  but  for  monsieur,  who  will  have 
the  use  of  my  name.  We  equip  you  as  a  pirate  that  does  the 
white  slave  trade,  eh  !  If  we  don't  capture  that  dot,  well, 
we'll  try  some  other  little  scheme.  Between  ourselves  we 
needn't  handle  things  with  tongs — that's  sure.  We'll  give 
you  instructions  later.     Here's  the  stamps." 

"  Waiter,  a  pen  and  the  ink !  "  cried  Theodose. 

♦*  That's  your  sort  of  man,"  said  Dutocq. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  16S 

"Sign  'Theodose  de  la  Peyrade,'  and  add  'Barrister, 
Rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer,*  under  the  words:  'Accepted 
for  ten  thousand  francs.'  We'll  date  the  notes  and  sue  you, 
of  course  secretly,  so  as  to  be  able  to  capture  and  imprison 
your  body.  The  privateer-owner  must  have  some  security 
when  the  captain  and  brig  are  at  sea." 

On  the  morrow  the  clerk  of  the  judge  served  la  Peyrade 
for  Cerizet,  secretly.  The  Tribunal  of  Commerce  has  hun- 
dreds of  such  cases  every  term.  The  strict  rules  of  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Barristers  would  cause  the  disbarring  of  a  member 
liable  to  be  committed  to  Clichy.  Thus  Cerizet  and  Dutocq 
had  their  measures  taken  to  secure  twenty-five  thousand  francs 
each  out  of  Celeste's  dot  Now,  when  Theodose  signed  the 
notes  he  only  saw  his  living  assured,  but  when  he  saw  the 
horizon  growing  clearer,  as  he  rose  step  by  step  to  a  higher 
position  on  the  social  ladder,  then  he  wished  to  be  rid  of  his 
two  associates.  Now,  in  asking  twenty-five  thousand  francs 
of  Thuillier  he  hoped  to  settle  his  notes  to  Cerizet  on  a  fifty 
per  cent,  basis. 

Up  to  the  present  neither  of  the  three  men  had  kicked  or 
groaned.  Each  knew  his  own  strength  and  recognized  his 
danger.  Equals  in  distrust,  in  watchfulness,  and  in  apparent 
confidence;  equals  also  in  stolid  silence  and  gloomy  looks 
when  mutual  suspicion  arose  to  the  surface,  betrayed  by  the 
play  of  their  features  or  words.  For  two  months  past  Theo- 
dose had  gradually  acquired  the  strength  of  a  detached  for- 
tress. But  Dutocq  and  Cerizet  had  under  their  skiff  a  mass 
of  powder,  the  torch  already  alight ;  but  the  wind  might  blow 
out  the  match  or  the  devil  flood  the  mine. 

A  reaction  of  envy  was  gathering  like  an  avalanche  in 
Cerizet.  Dutocq  saw  himself  at  the  mercy  of  his  copyist, 
who  had  become  enriched.  Theodose  would  have  liked  to 
burn  his  partners,  if  only  he  could  be  assured  that  their  papers 
would  be  consumed  with  them.  Theodose  lived  three  lives  in 
hell  as  he  thought  of  how  the  cards  might  turn,  then  of  hj§ 


164  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

own  game,  and  then  of  the  future.  His  speech  to  Thuillier 
was  the  cry  of  despair;  he  had  thrown  his  sounding-lead  into 
the  waters  of  the  old  bourgeois  and  had  found  there  no  more 
than  twenty-five  thousand  francs. 

"And,"  said  he  to  himself,  ''perhaps  nothing,  one  month 
hence." 

He  now  hated  the  Thuilliers  with  a  profound  hatred.  But 
he  held  Thuillier  by  the  harpoon  stuck  into  the  man's  vanity 
— that  of  the  projected  work,  "Taxation  and  Redemption  ;" 
he  intended  rearranging  the  ideas  of  "The  Globe"  in  its 
Saint-Simonism,  and  coloring  them  with  his  fervid  Southern 
diction. 

The  evening  before  the  right  of  redemption  of  equity  ex- 
pired Claparon  and  Cerizet  proceeded  thus  :  Cerizet,  to  whom 
the  other  had  given  the  password  and  the  address  of  the 
notary's  retreat,  went  out  to  him,  and  said : 

"  One  of  my  friends,  Claparon,  whom  you  know,  has  asked 
me  to  call  upon  you ;  he  expects  you  to-morrow  evening,  you 
know  where ;  he  has  the  paper  you  expect  from  him  ;  he  will 
exchange  it  with  you  for  the  ten  thousand  francs,  but  I  must 
be  present,  for  of  that  amount  five  thousand  belongs  to  me ; 
I  give  you  notice,  monsieur,  that  a  blank  remains  for  the 
name." 

"I  shall  be  there,"  said  the  notary. 

The  poor  devil  waited  the  whole  night  with  what  agony  one 
may  imagine,  for  his  safety  or  inevitable  ruin  were  in  the 
balance.  But  at  sunrise,  instead  of  Claparon,  he  saw  an  officer 
of  the  Tribunal  of  Commerce,  who  produced  a  judgment 
against  him  in  due  form,  requiring  him  to  accompany  him  to 
Clichy. 

Cerizet  had  bargained  with  a  creditor  i^o  deliver  the  un- 
lucky notary  up  for  one-half  the  amount  of  the  debt.  Out  of 
the  ten  thousand  he  had  reserved  for  Claparon  he  was  com- 
pelled to  disgorge  six  thousand  to  obtain  his  liberty. 

Cerizet  then  went  to  the  notary  and  said : 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  165 

'*  Claparon  is  a  scoundrel,  monsieur ;  he  received  five  thou- 
sand francs  from  the  alleged  purchaser  of  your  house,  which 
makes  him  the  owner.  Threaten  him  with  disclosing  his 
retreat  to  his  creditors  and  to  have  him  adjudged  a  fraudu- 
lent bankrupt,  then  he'll  turn  over  half  of  it  to  you." 

In  his  rage  the  notary  wrote  Claparon  an  abusive  letter ; 
he,  in  despair,  feared  arrest,  and  Cerizet  promised  to  obtain 
a  passport  for  him. 

"You  have  played  me  many  a  trick,  Claparon,"  said  Ceri- 
zet; '*  but  listen  to  me,  then  you  can  judge  me.  All  I  possess 
is  one  thousand  crowns — I'll  give  you  that.  Go  to  America, 
and  trade  and  make  your  fortune  th?re,  the  same  as  I  am 
trying  to  make  mine  here." 

That  very  evening  Claparon,  cleverly  disguised  by  Cerizet, 
left  by  the  diligence  for  Havre.  Thus  Cerizet  remained 
master  of  the  fifteen  tliousand  francs  demanded  by  Claparon, 
and  awaited  Th€odose  with  tranquillity.  He  had  another 
string  to  his  bow. 

"  The  limit  of  the  equity  is  passed,"  said  Theodose,  going 
himself  to  find  Dutocq  to  get  him  to  bring  Cerizet  to  his 
office. 

"You  won't  be  able  to  settle  this  transaction  anywhere  but 
in  Cerizet's  place,  since  Claparon  is  in  it,"  replied  Dutocq. 

Theodose  went  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock  to  this 
banker  of  the  poor,  whom  the  clerk  had  notified.  They 
promenaded  the  miserable  kitchen  like  two  beasts  in  a  cage, 
playing  the  scene  thus  : 

*'  Have  you  brought  the  fifteen  thousand  francs  ?  " 

"  No,  but  I  have  them  home." 

**  Why,  then,  have  not  you  them  in  your  pocket  ?  " 

"  I'll  explain  why,"  replied  the  advocate,  who,  between  the 
Rue  Saint-Dominique  and  the  Estrapade,  had  laid  out  his 
course  of  action. 

The  Provencal,  writhing  on  the  gridiron  to  which  his  part- 
ners had  bound  him,  had  a  bright  idea  which  flashed  up  from 


166  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

the  bosom  of  the  hot  coals.  Peril  at  times  has  gleams  of 
light. 

"  Good  !  "  said  Cerizet,  "  now  the  farce  begins." 

This  was  a  sinister  word  and  seemed  to  be  forced  through 
the  nose  with  horrible  accent. 

"  You  have  placed  me  in  a  most  splendid  position,  and  I 
shall  never  forget  it,  my  friend,"  said  Theodose,  with  emotion. 

*' Ah  !  that's  it,  eh  !  "  said  Cerizet. 

*'  Listen  to  me  ',  you  don't  know  my  intentions." 

"So?  truly  !  "  replied  the  loaner  by  the  little  week. 

''No." 

"  You  don't  intend  to  put  up  those  fifteen  thousand  francs." 

Theodose  looked  fixedly  at  Cerizet  and  shrugged  his  shoul- 
ders.    These  two  things  caused  the  latter  to  keep  silence. 

*'  Would  you,  in  my  position,  knowing  yourself  within 
range  of  a  cannon  loaded  with  grape-shot,  live  thus  without 
making  an  effort  to  end  it  ?  Listen  to  m€.  You  are  in  a 
dangerous  trade  ;  some  time  you  will  be  glad  of  good,  solid 
protection  in  the  courts  of  Paris.  I,  if  I  continue  in  my 
present  course,  shall  become  deputy  attorney-general,  maybe 
attorney-general,  in  three  years'  time.  To-day  I  offer  you  a 
devoted  friendship  which  will  be  of  service  to  you.  Here  are 
my  conditions." 

"Conditions?"  cried  Cerizet. 

"  In  ten  minutes  I  will  bring  you  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  for  all  the  claims  you  hold  against  me." 

"And  Dutocq?     And  Claparon?"  exclaimed  Cerizet. 

"Leave  them  in  the  lurch,"  said  Theodose,  in  his  friend's 
ear. 

"How  sweet!"  replied  Cerizet.  "And  you  play  this 
little  three-card-monte,  finding  that  you  hold  fifteen  thousand 
francs  that  don't  belong  to  you." 

"  But  I  add  ten  thousand  to  them.  See  here,  you  and  I 
know  each  other." 

"  If  you  have  power  enough  to  get  ten  thousand  francs  out 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  167 

of  your  bourgeois,"  said  Cerizet,  eagerly,  ''  you  can  quite  as 
easily  ask  fifteen.  For  thirty,  I'm  your  man.  Frankness  for 
frankness." 

"You  ask  the  impossible,"  exclaimed  Theodose.  "At 
this  moment,  if  you  had  Claparon  to  deal  with,  your  fifteen 
thousand  francs  would  be  lost,  for  the  house  is  Thuillier's 
now." 

"I'll  see  what  Claparon  has  to  say,"  replied  Cerizet,  pre- 
tending to  go  and  consult  Claparon,  mounting  upstairs  to  the 
chamber  whence  he  had  just  gone,  bag  and  baggage,  in  a 
hack. 

The  five  minutes  during  which  Theodose  heard  what  he 
believed  to  be  the  murmur  of  two  voices  was  positive  torture 
to  him,  for  his  whole  life  was  the  stake.  Cerizet  came  down, 
a  smile  upon  his  lips,  his  eyes  brilliant  with  an  infernal 
malice,  dancing  with  glee,  he  was  a  Lucifer  in  his  gayety. 

"I  know  nothing,"  said  he,  shrugging  his  shoulders; 
"  but  Claparon,  he  knows  it  all.  He  used  to  work  hand  in 
glove  with  some  top-notch  bankers.  When  I  told  him  what 
you  wanted  he  laughed  and  said:  'I  don't  doubt  it.'  To- 
morrow you  will  have  to  bring  me  those  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  you  oifered  me ;  and  no  less  beside  to  redeem  your 
acceptances,  my  boy." 

"And  why  ?  "  asked  Theodose,  who  felt  as  if  his  backbone 
were  liquefying ;  as  though  melted  by  the  discharge  of  some 
interior  electric  shock. 

"  The  house  is  ours." 

"And  how?" 

"  Claparon  has  formally  bid  it  in  under  the  name  of  a 
dealer,  the  first  one  to  take  proceedings  against  him,  a  little 
toad  named  Sauvaignou.  Desroches,  the  attorney,  has  the 
matter  in  hand,  and  to-morrow  morning  you'll  receive  due 
notification.  This  business  will  compel  me,  Claparon,  and 
Dutocq  to  raise  the  wind.  What  would  become  of  me  with- 
out Claparon  ?     So  I  must  forgive  him.     I  forgive  him  ;  you 


168  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

may  not  believe  it,  my  dear  friend,  but  we  actually  embraced 
each  other.     Change  your  terms." 

The  last  words  were  appalling,  especially  in  the  comment 
offered  by  the  face  of  Cerizet,  who  was  amusing  himself  by 
playing  a  scene  from  "L^gataire,"  in  the  midst  of  which  he 
studied  attentively  the  Provencal's  character. 

"  Oh  !  Cerizet,  and  I  wished  you  so  well !  " 

"See  you,  my  dear,"  replied  Cerizet,  "  between  us  this  is 
needed,"  and  he  struck  his  heart,  "of  which  you  haven't  the 
least  bit.  When  you  imagined  you  had  us — then  came  the 
squeeze.  I  saved  you  from  vermin  and  the  horrors  of  starva- 
tion. You'll  die  like  an  idiot.  We  put  you  on  the  way  to 
fortune,  we  put  you  inside  a  pretty  society-skin,  by  which 
you  could  have  grasped  a  fortune — and  after  all  that !  Well, 
now  I  know  you;  we  tramp  under  arms." 

"Then  it  is  war,"  said  Theodose. 

**  You  fired  first,"  said  Cerizet. 

"But  if  you  demolish  me — then  farewell  to  all  your  hopes; 
and  if  you  are  not  able  to  down  me,  you  have  an  enemy  in 

me. 

"Exactly  what  I  said  to  Dutocq  yesterday,"  answered 
Cerizet,  coolly.  "But  how  can  it  be  helped.  We  chose 
between  the  two — circumstances  govern  cases.  I'm  a  pretty 
good  fellow,"  he  went  on  after  a  pause,  "to-morrow  bring 
me  your  twenty-five  thousand  francs  and  Thuillier  shall  retain 

the  house.     We'll  help  you  at  both  ends,  but  you  must  pay 

Now  after  what  has  passed  that's  not  so  much  amiss,  eh?" 

" Say  to-morrow  at  noon,"  said  the  Provencal,  "for  there 
are  a  number  of  irons  to  heat." 

"I'll  endeavor  my  best  with  Claparon,  but  he's  a  pretty 
tough  fellow  when  he's  in  a  hurry." 

"Oh,  well !  to-morrow  then,"  said  Thdodose,  in  the  tone 
of  a  man  decided  on  his  course, 

"Good-morning,  friend,"  said  Cerizet  in  such  a  horrible 
nasal  tone  that  degraded   the   most   beautiful  word   in   the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  169 

language.  "There  goes  a  sucker."  said  he  to  himself,  look- 
ing after  Thdodose  passing  down  the  street  like  a  man  in  a 
daze. 

As  he  left  the  idea  came  to  him  to  go  to  Flavie  and  tell  her 
everything.  Southern  natures  are  thus — strong  up  to  a  cer- 
tain point  of  passion,  then  a  collapse.  He  entered.  Flavie 
was  alone  in  her  chamber  ;  she  saw  Theodose  and  thought  he 
had  come  to  violate  or  kill  her. 

'•'What  is  the  matter?  "  she  cried. 

"I — I —     Do  you  love  me,  Flavie?"  said  he. 

"  Oh  !  can  you  doubt  it  ?  " 

"But  absolutely  love  me — even  if  I  were  a  criminal?" 

"Has  he  then  killed  somebody?"  said  she  to  herself; 
answering  him  with  a  nod  of  assent. 

Theodose,  happy  at  even  grasping  this  branch  of  willow, 
burst  into  a  passion  of  sobs,  torrents  of  tears  ran  down  his 
cheeks.  Flavie  went  out  and  said  to  her  maid  :  "  I  am  not 
at  home  to  any  one ; "  then  she  closed  all  doors  and  returned 
to  Theodose. 

"I  have  but  you  in  the  world,"  cried  he,  seizing  Flavic's 
hands  and  kissing  them  with  a  sort  of  fury.  "If  you  only 
remain  true  to  me — as  the  body  is  to  the  soul — then,"  he 
added,  recovering  himself  with  infinite  grace,  "  I  should  have 
the  courage." 

He  rose  and  paped  the  room. 

"Yes,  I  can  struggle;  I  will  recover  my  strength,  like 
Antaeus,  from  a  fall ;  with  my  own  hands  will  I  strangle  the 
serpents  that  entwine  me,  that  give  me  serpent-kisses,  that 
slaver  my  cheeks,  that  suck  my  blood,  my  honor.  Oh  !  that 
poverty  !  Far  better  have  died  than  lived  for  this.  A  coflSn 
is  a  softer  bed  in  comparison  than  my  present  life.  For 
eighteen  months  I  have  been  fed  on  bourgeois  ;  and  after  that 
horrid  feast,  when  all  is  propitious  of  attaining  an  honest, 
fortunate  life  and  a  great  future,  when  I  was  about  seating 
myself  at  the  banquet  of  society,  the  executioner  taps  me  on 


170  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

the  shoulder  :  '  Pay  thy  tithes  to  the  devil,  or  die  !  '  And  I, 
shall  I  not  trample  them  underfoot !  and  I,  shall  I  not  ram  my 
arm  down  their  throats  to  their  very  entrails !  Ah  !  yes,  I 
will,  I  will.  See  you,  Flavie,  my  eyes  are  dry.  And  pres- 
ently I  shall  laugh ;  I  feel  my  power.  Oh  !  say  to  me  that 
you  love  me — say  it  once  again.  At  this  moment  it  sounds 
like  the  word  '  Pardon  '  to  the  condemned?  " 

"You  are  terrible,  my  friend,"  said  Flavie.  "Oh!  you 
bruise  me." 

She  knew  nothing  of  the  meaning  of  this,  but  she  fell  on 
the  couch  half-dead,  so  agitated  was  she  by  this  scene ;  and 
then  Theodose  flung  himself  on  his  knees  before  her. 

*•  Pardon  me  !  forgive  me,"  he  said. 

"But  what  does  it  all  mean  !  "  she  asked. 

"They  wish  to  ruin  me.  Oh!  promise  me  Celeste;  you 
shall  see  in  what  a  glorious  life  I  will  make  you  a  sharer.  If 
you  hesitate — well,  that  will  mean  you  shall  be  mine ;  I  will 
have  you  ! ' ' 

He  started  up  with  such  vehemence  that  Flavie,  terrified, 
rose  and  walked  away. 

"Oh  !  my  angel !  at  your  feet,  there — what  a  miracle.  For 
certainly  God  is  for  me.  Thanks,  my  good  angel;  great 
Theodosius  !  you  have  saved  me." 

Flavie  admired  that  chameleon  being;  he  was  a  fervent 
Catholic ;  he  reverently  crossed  himself;  it  was  as  fine  as  the 
communion  of  Saint-Jerome. 

"Adieu,"  he  said,  in  a  melancholy  voice;  then  rushed 
away ;  but  in  the  street  he  turned  and  saw  her  at  the  window, 
he  made  a  sign  of  triumph. 

"  What  a  man  !  "  said  she. 

"  My  good  friend,"  said  Theodose,  in  a  gentle,  calm  voice, 
almost  coaxing,  to  Thuillier,  after  reaching  home,  "we  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  atrocious  scoundrels ;  but  I  intend 
giving  them  a  little  lesson." 

"  What  is  wrong?  "  said  Brigitte. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  171 

*'  Well,  they  want  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  and  so,  to 
get  the  better  of  us,  have  arranged  to  bid  in  the  property. 
Put  five  thousand  francs  in  your  pocket  and  come  with  me ; 
I'll  assure  you  that  house.  I  am  making  implacable  enemies 
for  myself,"  he  exclaimed-;  "  they  seek  to  destroy  me  morally. 
Should  you  despise  their  calumnies  and  feel  no  change  toward 
me,  I  shall  be  content.  And  what  is  this,  after  all  ?  If 
I  succeed,  you  have  paid  for  the  house  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  francs  instead  of  paying  one  hundred 
and  twenty." 

"Will  it  happen  again?"  demanded  Brigitte,  uneasily, 
whose  eyes  dilated  with  a  horrible  suspicion. 

**  None  but  preferred  creditors  have  the  right  of  redemption, 
and  as  in  this  case  there  is  but  one  that  has  used  this  right,  we 
can  take  it  quietly.  His  debt  is  but  two  thousand  francs ;  but 
of  course  there  are  the  costs  of  the  lawyers  in  affairs  like  this 
which  must  be  paid,  and  it  wouldn't  be  amiss  to  give  a  per- 
quisite of  a  thousand  francs  to  the  creditor." 

"  Go,  Thuillier,"  said  Brigitte ;  "  take  your  hat  and  gloves, 
and  get  the  cash — you  know  where." 

"As  I  let  that  fifteen  thousand  francs  go  without  result,  I 
don't  wish  any  more  money  to  pass  through  my  hands.  Thuil- 
lier can  pay  it  himself,"  said  Theodose,  when  he  found  him- 
self alone  with  Brigitte.  "You  have  made  twenty  thousand 
francs  by  the  bargain  I  made  with  Grindot ;  he  thought  he 
was  assisting  the  notary,  and  you  own  a  property  which  in  five 
years  will  be  worth  nearly  a  million.  It  is  at  a  corner  of  the 
boulevard." 

Brigitte  was  uneasy,  and  listened  exactly  like  a  cat  that 
smells  mice  under  the  floor.  She  looked  very  earnestly,  and 
half  doubtfully,  at  Theodose. 

"What  is  it,  little  aunt?" 

"  Oh  !  I  shall  be  in  deadly  fear  until  we  are  the  real  owners," 
she  replied. 

"Where  are  we  going?"  asked  Thuillier. 


172  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"To  Maitre  Godeschal,  whom  we  must  employ  as  our 
attorney." 

*'But  we  refused  Celeste  to  him,"  exclaimed  the  old  maid. 

"The  more  reason  for  employing  him,"  said  Theodose. 

Godeschal  was  Derville's  successor,  whose  head-clerk  he 
had  been  for  more  than  ten  years.  There  was  the  utmost 
intimacy  between  them,  and  ties  like  these  in  Paris  form  a 
true  fraternity.  They  give  and  take,  in  all  possible  conces- 
sions, on  the  strength  of  the  old  proverbs:  "Pass  me  the 
rhubarb,  I'll  pass  the  senna,"  or,  "One  good  turn  deserves 
another;"  which  is  put  in  practice,  in  every  profession,  be- 
tween ministers,  officers,  lawyers,  merchants,  everywhere,  in 
fact,  where  enmity  has  not  raised  too  strong  barriers  between 
the  parties. 

Now  la  Peyrade,  a  smart  man,  had  not  trailed  his  robe 
about  the  Palace  so  long  without  being  aware  how  best  these 
judicial  amenities  would  serve  his  ends.  It  was  eleven  o'clock 
at  night,  but  la  Peyrade  was  not  wrong  in  thinking  that  a 
newly  fledged  attorney  would  be  found  in  his  office,  even 
late  as  it  was. 

"To  what  do  I  owe  this  visit,  Monsieur  I'Avocat?"  said 
Godeschal,  meeting  la  Peyrade, 

Foreigners,  provincials,  men  of  the  world,  perhaps,  are  not 
aware  that  barristers  {avocats)  are  to  attorneys  what  generals 
are  to  marshals;  a  strict  line  of  demarkation  divides  them. 
However  venerable  may  be  the  attorney,  however  competent, 
he  must  go  the  barrister.  The  attorney  is  the  one  who  lays 
out  the  campaign,  who  collects  the  munitions  of  war,  and  sets 
everything  on  the  move  ;  the  barrister  gives  battle.  It  is  not 
explained  why  the  law  gives  the  client  two  men  instead  of 
one,  any  more  than  it  is  known  why  the  author  needs  both  a 
printer  and  publisher.  The  Association  of  Barristers  forbids 
its  members  to  perform  any  act  pertaining  to  that  of  the 
attorney.  It  very  rarely  happens  that  a  barrister  sets  foot  in 
an  attorney's  office,  they  meet  in  the  Palace  of  Justice ;  but^ 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  173 

in  society,  these  barriers  are  thrown  down,  and  sometimes 
barristers,  in  a  position  similar  to  that  of  la  Peyrade,  demean 
themselves  by  calling  upon  an  attorney ;  but  such  occurrences 
are  rare,  and  special  urgency  is  urged  as  an  excuse. 

"Eh,  mon  Dieu,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "it  is  a  grave  affair, 
and  between  us  we  must  settle  a  very  delicate  piece  of  busi- 
ness. Thuillier  is  below  in  a  carriage,  and  I  come,  not  in  my 
capacity  as  a  barrister,  but  as  a  friend  of  Thuillier's.  You  are 
in  a  position  in  which  you  can  be  of  immense  service  to  him, 
and  I  told  him  that  you  were  of  too  noble  a  soul  (for  you  are 
a  worthy  successor  of  the  great  Derville)  not  to  place  at  his 
direction  your  utmost  capacity.     This  is  the  business." 

After  explaining  wholly  to  his  own  advantage  the  trick 
which  must,  he  said,  be  balked  by  ability,  and  lawyers  meet 
more  clients  that  lie  than  those  who  speak  the  truth,  the  bar- 
rister developed  his  plan  of  campaign. 

"You  ought,  my  dear  maltre,  to  go  this  very  night  to  see 
Desroches,  explain  the  whole  plot,  persuade  him  to  send  for 
this  client  of  his  to-morrow,  this  Sauvaignou ;  we  between  us 
three  will  properly  confess  him ;  if  he  wants  a  perquisite  of 
say  a  thousand  francs  we'll  stand  that,  in  addition  to  five 
hundred  each  for  yourself  and  Desroches,  only  provided  that 
Thuillier  obtains  from  Sauvaignou  a  letter  renouncing  his  bid 
before  ten  o'clock  to-morrow.  This  Sauvaignou,  what  does 
he  want  ?  His  money  !  Well,  then,  such  a  peddler  as  that 
wouldn't  resist  the  appeal  of  a  thousand-franc  bill,  so  especially 
if  he  is  but  the  agent  of  a  cupidity  backing  him.  The  fight 
between  him  and  the  others  is  no  matter  of  concern  to  us. 
Come,  do  your  best  to  get  the  Thuillier  family  out  of  this." 

"I'll  go  at  once  and  see  Desroches,"  said  Godeschal. 

"  No ;  not  before  Thuillier  gives  you  a  power  of  attorney 
and  five  thousand  francs.     Money  talks  in  such  a  case  as  this." 

La  Peyrade's  whole  future  and  fortune  lay  in  the  outcome ; 
for  he  had  arranged  to  meet  Godeschal  at  Desroches'  office  on 
the  morrow  at  seven  o'clock.     It  is  not  astonishing,  therefore, 


174  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

that  he  disregarded  the  traditions  of  the  bar  and  went  thither 
to  study  Sauvaignou  and  to  take  part  in  the  struggle. 

As  he  entered  and  made  his  salutations  he  examined  Sau- 
vaignou. He  was,  as  his  name  indicated,  from  Marseilles, 
and  was  foreman  to  a  master-carpenter,  or  rather  a  kind  of 
clerk  of  the  works,  standing  between  the  master-carpenter  and 
the  workmen.  The  profit  of  the  work  consisted  in  what  he 
could  make  out  of  the  price  paid  him  by  the  boss-carpenter 
and  the  labor  he  employed  ;  he  received  no  profit  out  of  the 
materials  used.  The  master-carpenter  had  failed.  Sauvaig- 
nou at  once  appealed  to  the  Tribunal  of  Commerce  and  had  a 
lien  placed  on  the  property.  He  was  a  little,  squat  man,  who 
wore  a  gray  linen  blouse,  cap  on  head,  and  sat  in  an  armchair 
in  the  office.  Three  bills  of  a  thousand  francs  each  laying 
before  him,  on  Desroches'  desk,  showed  la  Peyrade  that  the 
engagement  was  over,  and  the  attorneys  worsted.  Godeschal's 
eyes  told  the  rest,  and  the  glance  which  Desroches,  the  most 
feared  of  every  attorney  in  Paris,  cast  on  the  ''poor  man's 
advocate  "  was  like  the  blow  of  a  pick  in  a  grave.  Stimulated 
by  danger  the  Provencal  was  magnificent ;  he  laid  his  hand  on 
the  three  bills  of  one  thousand  each,  and  folded  them  as  if 
about  to  put  them  into  his  pocket. 

"Thuillier  won't  make  the  deal,"  said  he  to  Desroches. 

"Well,  then,  we  are  all  agreed,"  replied  the  terrible 
attorney. 

'*  Yes ;  your  client  must  now  hand  over  to  us  fifty  thousand 
francs  expended  by  us  in  furnishing  the  property,  under  the 
contract  between  Thuillier  and  Grindot.  I  did  not  inform 
you  of  that  yesterday,"  said  he,  turning  to  Godeschal. 

"You  hear  that?"  said  Desroches  to  Sauvaignou.  "I 
shall  not  touch  this  case  without  being  guaranteed." 

"But,  gentlemen,"  said  the  tradesman,  "I  cannot  deal 
with  this  matter  until  I  have  seen  the  worthy  man  who  gave 
me  five  hundred  francs  on  account  for  having  signed  a  power 
of  attorney  to  him." 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  175 

**Are  you  from  Marseilles?"  said  la  Peyrade  to  him,  in 
Sauva  i  gn  ou '  s  own  patois. 

"Yes,  monsieur." 

"Well,  poor  devil,  you,  don't  you  see  they  wish  to  ruin 
you?  Don't  you  know  what  to  do?  Pocket  those  three 
thousand  francs,  and,  when  the  other  fellow  turns  up,  take 
out  your  rule  and  give  him  a  pounding ;  tell  him  that  he  is  a 
scoundrel,  that  he  wants  you  to  do  his  dirty  work,  that  instead 
of  doing  this  you  revoke  your  power  of  attorney,  and  that, 
further,  you  will  return  him  the  five  hundred  francs  the  first 
week  in  which  there  are  three  Thursdays.  Then  be  off  to 
Marseilles  with  that  three  thousand  five  hundred  francs  and 
your  savings.  If  anything  goes  wrong,  let  me  know  through 
these  gentlemen ;  I'll  get  you  out  of  the  scrape,  for  not  only 
am  I  a  good  Provencal,  but  also  one  of  the  leading  barristers 
in  Paris  and  the  friend  of  the  poor." 

When  the  workman  found  a  compatriot  supporting  his  own 
wishes,  also  learning  that  he  was  really  a  barrister  and  able  to 
do  as  promised,  he  signed  the  relinquishment,  but  stipulated 
for  three  thousand  five  hundred  francs ;  this  with  the  cross 
receipts  settled  the  whole  matter. 

"You  must  at  once  acquaint  your  man  with  what  is  done 
and  let  him  know  that  the  proxy  is  revoked,"  said  Desroches 
to  Sauvaignou,  as  he  sent  the  latter  out  through  his  back  office. 

"There  is  something  behind  all  this,"  said  Desroches  to 
Godeschal  after  Theodose  had  gone. 

"The  Thuilliers  get  a  magnificent  freehold  for  next  to 
nothing,  that's  all,"  Godeschal  replied. 

"La  Peyrade  and  Cerizet  seem  to  me  like  two  divers  fight- 
ing under  the  sea.  What  am  I  to  tell  Cerizet,  who  placed 
the  affair  in  my  hands?"  asked  Desroches  as  the  barrister 
returned. 

"Say  that  Sauvaignou  forced  your  hand,"  said  la  Peyrade, 

"And  you  fear  nothing  !  "  said  Desroches  pointedly. 

"What,  me?     I  have  only  given  Cerizet  a  lesson." 


176  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"To-morrow  I  shall  learn  the  whole,"  said  Desroches  to 
Godeschal ;  "  no  one  blabs  like  a  beaten  man." 

At  eleven  o'clock  la  Peyrade  was  in  the  court  of  the  justice 
of  the  peace ;  he  saw  Cerizet  come  in,  pale  with  rage,  his 
eyes  full  of  venom ;  he  said  in  his  ear,  in  a  calm,  firm  voice : 

"  My  friend,  I  also  am  a  pretty  good  sort  of  fellow  myself; 
I  still  hold  these  twenty-five  thousand  francs  in  bank-bills  at 
your  disposal ;  they  are  yours  in  exchange  for  my  acceptances." 

Cerizet  gazed  at  the  advocate  of  the  poor,  but  was  quite 
unable  to  make  any  answer ;  he  was  green ;  his  bile  had 
struck  in. 

"  I  am  now  incontestably  a  property  owner,"  cried  Thuillier 
when  he  returned  from  his  notary,  Jacquinot,  the  son-in-law 
and  successor  of  Cardot.  "  No  human  power  can  now  dis- 
possess me ;  so  they  say  ! ' ' 

"Ah!"  said  Brigitte,  "what  an  awful  fright  our  dear 
Theodose  gave  me." 

"Halloo!  my  best  friend;  but  what  do  you  suppose  Car- 
dot  said?  he  asked  me  who  had  put  me  in  the  way  of  this 
stroke,  and  said  that  I  ought  to  give  him  at  least  ten  thou- 
sand francs  as  a  present.     As  a  fact,  I  do  owe  all  to  him." 

"  But  he  is  the  same  as  our  own  boy,"  said  Brigitte, 

"  Poor  fellow,  I'll  do  him  the  justice  of  saying  that  he  does 
not  ask  for  anything." 

"Well,  my  good  friend,"  said  la  Payrade,  who  returned  at 
three  o'clock  from  the  justice  of  the  peace,  "here  you  are. 
Mister  Richraan." 

"And  through  you,  my  dear  Theodose." 

"  And  you,  little  aunt,  have  you  come  to  life  again  ?  Ah  ! 
you  were  not  so  much  afraid  as  I  was.  I  put  your  interests 
before  my  own.  Tenez  !  I  couldn't  breathe  freely  till  eleven 
o'clock  ;  still  I  am  sure  now  of  having  two  mortal  enemies  at 
my  heels  in  the  persons  of  the  two  whom  I  tricked  for  you. 
As  I  came  home  I  wondered  what  had  possessed  me  by  your  in- 
fluence to  make  me  commit  this  sort  of  crime !     Whether  the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  Ttl 

honor  of  being  one  of  your  family  and  becoming  your  son 
will  ever  efface  from  my  conscience  the  stain  I  have  put  upon 
it." 

"Bah  !  you  can  confess  it,"  said  Thuillier,  the  freethinker. 

"  Now,"  said  Theodose  to  Brigitte,  "you  may  pay  in  security 
the  price  of  the  house,  eighty  thousand  francs,  and  thirty  thou- 
sand to  Grindot,  in  all,  with  the  costs  you  have  paid,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  thousand  francs ;  the  last  twenty  thousand 
make  it  in  all  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand.  If  you  lease  the 
whole  to  one  tenant,  ask  for  the  last  year's  rent  in  advance, 
and  reserve  for  me  and  my  wife  all  the  floor  above  the  entre- 
sol. You  can  then  even  get  forty  thousand  francs  a  year  for 
twelve  years.  Then,  if  at  any  time  you  wish  to  move  nearer 
the  Chamber  and  desire  to  quit  this  quarter,  you  can  stay  with 
me ;  there  are  stables  and  coach-house,  and  so  forth,  pertain- 
ing to  it.  Meanwhile,  Thuillier,  I  am  going  to  get  you  the 
cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor." 

Hearing  this  last  promise,  Brigitte  cried : 

"My  faith !  my  boy,  you've  done  our  business  so  well  that 
I  shall  leave  you  that  of  leasing  the  house." 

"Don't  abdicate,  good  aunt,"  said  Theodose;  "and  God 
preserve  me  from  taking  one  step  without  you.  You  are  the 
good  genius  of  the  family.  You  will  have  forty  thousand 
francs  in  hand  inside  of  two  months.  And,  beside  all,  that 
won't  prevent  Thuillier  from  handling  his  ten  thousand  in 
rent  per  quarter." 

After  having  thrown  this  hope  at  the  old  maid,  who  was 
jubilant,  he  took  Thuillier  into  the  garden  and  said,  without 
beating  about  the  bush  : 

"  My  good  friend,  find  some  means  to  get  me  ten  thousand 
francs  from  your  sister;  but  don't  let  her  know  they  are  for 
me ;  tell  her  they  are  needed  for  the  formalities  of  getting  the 
Cross  ;  that  you  know  just  who  will  get  the  cash." 

"That's  all  right,"  said  Thuillier;  "I  can  repay  her  when 
I  get  my  rents." 
12 


178  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Thdodose  now  hurried  off  to  Mme.  Colleville,  to  whom  he 
cried  as  he  entered : 

"  I  have  conquered ;  we  shall  have  secured  for  Celeste  a 
property  worth  a  million  francs,  a  life  interest  in  which  will 
be  given  in  her  marriage-contract  by  Thuillier ;  but  keep  my 
secret,  or  your  daughter  will  be  in  demand  by  the  peers  of 
France.  Now  dress  yourself  and  let  us  call  upon  the  Com- 
tesse  du  Bruel,  she  can  get  Thuillier  the  cross.  While  you 
are  getting  under  arms  I'll  do  a  little  courting  of  Celeste; 
you  and  I  can  talk  in  the  carriage." 

Now  he  had  noticed  that  Felix  and  Celeste  were  alone  in 
the  salon ;  for  her  mother  had  full  faith  in  Celeste.  The 
couple  were  discussing  religion.  Felix,  like  most  geometri- 
cians, chemists,  mathematicians,  and  great  naturalists,  had 
subjected  religion  to  reason  ;  he  saw  in  it  a  problem  as  insolu- 
ble as  the  squaring  of  the  circle.  In  petto  a  deist,  he  still 
professed  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  French,  without 
attaching  more  importance  to  it  than  to  the  new  laws 
of  July.  There  must  needs  be  a  God  in  heaven,  the  same  as 
there  must  be  a  bust  of  the  King  in  the  mayor's  office.  The 
young  girl  professed  a  horror  for  atheism,  and  her  confessor 
had  told  her  that  a  deist  was  cousin-german  to  an  atheist. 

**  Have  you  thought,  F6lix,  of  the  promise  you  made  me," 
asked  Celeste,  when  Mme.  Colleville  had  left  them. 

"  No,  my  dear  Celeste,"  replied  Felix. 

"  Oh  !  to  break  a  promise,"  cried  she,  dolefully. 

"It  would  have  been  profanation,"  said  Felix.  "  I  love 
you  so  much,  and  with  a  tenderness  which  makes  me  so  weak 
against  your  requests,  that  I  promised  something  against  my 
conscience.  Conscience,  Celeste,  is  our  treasure,  our  strength, 
our  mainstay.  How  could  you  desire  me  to  go  to  church  and 
kneel  before  a  priest  in  whom  I  can  only  see  a  man.  You 
would  despise  me  if  I  obeyed  you." 

*'So,  my  dear  Felix,  you  will  not  go  to  church?"  said 
Celeste,  casting  a  tearful  look  at  the  man  she  loved.     "  If  I 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  179 

were  your  wife,  you  would  leave  me  to  go  alone,  eh  ?  You  do 
not  love  me  as  I  love  you — for  until  this  moment  I  have  had 
in  my  heart  a  feeling  for  an  atheist  against  the  command  of 
God?" 

"  An  atheist  !  "  cried  Felix.  "  Oh  !  no.  Listen,  Celeste  j 
I  know  of  a  certainty  that  there  is  a  God  ;  I  believe  that,  but 
I  have  a  much  higher  opinion  of  Him  than  your  priests  have  ; 
I  have  no  desire  to  bring  Him  down  to  my  level,  I  try  to  raise 
myself  to  Him.  I  hearken  to  the  voice  He  has  planted  within 
me,  a  voice  which  honest  men  call  conscience,  and  I  try  to 
not  betray  that  divine  ray  as  it  reaches  me.  I  will  never  in- 
jure any  person  ;  I  will  not  do  aught  to  break  the  command- 
ments of  universal  morality,  which  formed  those  of  Confu- 
cius, Moses,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  as  well  as  of  Jesus  Christ. 
I  remain  before  God  ;  my  acts  shall  be  my  prayers ;  I  will 
never  lie,  my  word  is  sacred  ;  and  I  will  do  nothing  vile  or 
evil.  These  are  the  precepts  of  my  virtuous  father,  these  I 
wish  to  leave  to  my  children.  What  can  you  ask  more  than 
this?" 

This  profession  of  faith  caused  Celeste  to  sadly  shake  her 
head. 

"Read  attentively,"  said  she,  **  'The  Imitation  of  Christ.' 
Strive  to  be* converted  to  the  holy  church.  Catholic,  Apostolic, 
and  Roman,  then  you  will  learn  how  absurd  your  words  are. 
Listen,  Felix,  marriage,  says  the  church,  is  not  the  affair  of  a 
day,  the  satisfaction  of  desire ;  it  is  made  for  all  eternity. 
What !  shall  we  be  united  by  day  and  night,  shall  we  be  one 
flesh,  one  spirit,  and  yet  speak  two  languages,  have  two 
faiths  in  our  hearts,  two  religions ;  a  cause  of  perpetual  dis- 
sension ?  Could  I  address  myself  in  peace  to  God  when  He 
always  had  His  right  arm  bared  against  you  ?  Your  deistic 
blood,  your  convictions,  might  animate  my  children.  Oh, 
my  God  !  how  wretched  for  a  wife.  Do  not  place  a  gulf 
between  us.  If  you  loved  me,  you  would  already  have  read 
the  'Imitation  of  Christ.'  " 


180  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

The  Phellions,  children  of  the  "  Constitutionnel,"  have 
no  love  for  priests.  Felix  had  the  imprudence  to  reply  to 
this  species  of  supplication  from  the  depths  of  an  ardent  soul: 

"  You  are  repeating,  Celeste,  the  lesson  taught  by  your  con- 
fessor, and  nothing  can  be  more  fatal  to  happiness,  I  think, 
than  the  interference  of  priests  in  one's  household." 

**0h  !  "  cried  Celeste,  "you  do  not  love  me;  "  for  she 
was  pierced  to  the  quick,  being  inspired  of  love. 

She  enveloped  herself  in  noble  silence ;  Felix  went  to  the 
window  and  thrummed  upon  the  panes ;  a  music  familiar 
to  those  who  have  indulged  in  poignant  reflections.  The 
Phellion  conscience  argued  thus  : 

"  Cdleste  is  a  rich  heiress,  and,  by  yielding,  contrary  to 
the  voice  of  natural  religion,  to  her  ideas,  it  would  be  done 
for  the  purpose  of  making  an  advantageous  marriage:  an  in- 
famous act.  I  ought  not,  as  a  father  of  a  family,  to  allow  a 
priest  to  have  any  influence  in  my  home  ;  if  I  submit  to-day  I 
do  a  weak  act,  which  will  lead  to  many  such,  pernicious  to 
the  authority  of  a  father  and  husband.  All  this  is  beneath 
the  dignity  of  a  philosopher." 

Then  he  returned  to  his  beloved. 

"  Celeste,"  he  said,  ''  on  my  knees  I  beg  you  not  to  confound 
things.  Each  has  his  own  way  of  salvation  ;  as  to  society,  it 
is  not  obeying  God  to  obey  its  laws.  Christ  said  :  '  Render 
unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's.'  Caesar  is  the 
body  politic.     Forget  this  little  quarrel,  dear." 

"Little  quarrel!"  cried  the  young  enthusiast.  "I  wish 
for  you  to  have  my  whole  heart  as  I  would  have  all  yours  ; 
but  you  would  divide  it  into  two  parts.  Is  not  that  awful  ? 
You  forget  that  marriage  is  a  sacrament." 

"Your  priests  have  turned  your  brain,"  cried  the  mathe- 
matician, impatiently. 

"Monsieur  Phellion,"  said  Celeste,  hastily  interrupting 
him,  "  that's  enough  of  this  subject." 

It  was  at  this  point  of  the  controversy  that  Th^odose,  who 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  181 

had  not  disdained  to  listen  outside  the  door,  deemed  it  judi- 
cious to  make  his  entry.  He  found  Celeste  pale  and  the 
young  professor  uneasy  as  a  lover  should  be  who  has  just 
vexed  his  mistress. 

"  I  heard  the  word  'enough,'  has  there  been  too  much?" 
asked  he,  looking  by  turns  at  Celeste  and  Felix. 

"  We  were  talking  religion,"  replied  Felix.  "  I  was  tell- 
ing mademoiselle  how  evil  the  influence  of  clerics  must  be  in 
a  family." 

"That  was  not  the  point  at  all,  monsieur,"  said  Celeste, 
sharply;  "but  that  I  wanted  to  know  if  husband  and  wife 
could  be  of  one  heart  when  one  was  an  atheist  and  the  other 
a  Catholic." 

"  Is  it  possible  that  there  are  atheists?"  exclaimed  Theo- 
dose,  showing  signs  of  deep  amazement.  "  Is  it  that  a  Catholic 
could  possibly  marry  a  protestant  ?  But  it  is  impossible  that 
safety  can  be  found  for  a  married  couple  unless  there  is  per- 
fect agreement  in  their  religious  opinions.  I  am,  of  a  truth, 
from  the  Comtat,  of  a  family  which  counts  a  pope  among  its 
ancestors ;  for  our  arms  are :  gules  with  a  key  argent,  our 
supporters,  a  monk  holding  a  church  and  a  pilgrim  bearing  a 
staff,  the  motto  being :  ^fouvre  etjeferme,^  or,  I  open  and  I 
shut.  I  am,  I  may  say,  fiercely  dogmatic  on  the  subject.  But 
to-day,  thanks  to  our  system  of  modern  education,  it  is  not 
in  the  least  strange  that  religion  should  be  called  in  question. 
But,  as  I  tell  myself,  I  would  never  marry  a  protestant  even 
if  she  possessed  millions ;  nor  even  if  I  had  lost  my  reason 
for  love  of  her.  Faith  is  outside  discussion.  Una  fides,  unus 
Domtnus — one  faith,  one  Lord — that  is  my  living  motto." 

"You  hear  !  "  cried  Celeste,  looking  at  F6lix. 

"I  am  not  too  devout,"  la  Peyrade  continued.  "  I  go  to 
mass  every  morning  at  six  o'clock,  that  I  may  not  be  ob- 
served ;  I  fast  on  Fridays ;  I  am,  in  short,  a  son  of  the 
church ;  I  would  not  commence  any  undertaking  without 
prayer,  after  the  ancient  custom  of  my  ancestors ;  but  I  do 


182  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

not  obtrude  my  religion  on  people.  In  the  Revolution  of 
1789  an  incident  occurred  that  bound  us  more  firmly  than 
ever  to  our  holy  mother,  the  church.  A  poor  young  lady  of 
the  elder  branch  of  la  Peyrades,  who  owned  the  little  estate 
of  la  Peyrade  (for  we  are  the  Peyrades  of  Canquoelle,  but 
both  branches  inter-inherit),  well,  this  demoiselle  married, 
six  years  before  the  Revolution,  a  barrister,  who  after  the 
fashion  of  the  times  was  a  Voltairean,  that  is,  an  unbeliever, 
or,  if  you  like,  a  deist.  He  took  up  all  the  revolutionary 
ideas,  practicing  the  pleasing  rites  of  which  you  have  heard, 
in  the  worship  of  the  goddess  of  Reason,  He  came  to  our 
part  of  the  country  soaked  in  the  fanaticism  of  the  Convention. 
His  wife  was  very  handsome ;  he  compelled  her  to  play  the 
r6le  of  Liberty ;  the  poor  unfortunate  went  mad — she  died 
insane.  Ah,  well,  as  things  seem  to  be  going,  we  may  yet  see 
another  1793." 

This  romance,  forged  on  the  spot,  made  such  an  impres- 
sion on  the  young,  fresh  imagination  of  Cdleste  that  she  rose, 
curtsied  low  to  the  two  young  men,  and  retired  to  her  cham- 
ber. 

*«Ah,  monsieur,  why  did  you  tell  her  that?"  exclaimed 
F61ix,  stricken  to  the  heart  by  the  cold  look  of  indifference 
cast  upon  him  by  Celeste. 

"  I  am  ready,"  said  Mme.  Colleville,  appearing  in  a  tasteful 
toilet.     '*  But  what  ails  my  poor  daughter?     She  is  crying  !  " 

"Crying,  madame  !  "  cried  Felix.  "Tell  her,  madame, 
that  I  will  at  once  begin  to  study  the  '  Imitation  of  Christ.'  " 

An  hour  later  Mme.  Colleville,  Celeste,  Colleville,  and 
Theodose  were  entering  the  Thuilliers'  home  to  dine  with 
them.  Theodose  and  Flavie  took  Thuillier  into  the  garden, 
where  Theodose  said  : 

"  My  good  friend,  you  will  have  the  Cross  within  a  week. 
Listen,  this  dear  friend  will  tell  you  all  about  our  visit  to  the 
Comtesse  du  Bruel." 

Thiodose  left  them,  having  caught  sight  of  Desroches  ap- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  183 

proaching,  convoyed  by  Brigitte  ;  a  chilling,  dread  presenti- 
ment bade  him  go  to  meet  the  attorney. 

"My  dear  maitre,"  whispered  Desroches  to  Theodose,  "I 
am  here  to  see  if  you  can  at  once  furnish  twenty-five  thousand 
francs,  plus  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty  francs,  sixty 
centimes,  for  costs." 

"Are  you  Cerizet's  attorney?" 

"  He  has  placed  all  the  acceptances  into  Louchard's  hands ; 
you  know  what  you  must  expect  after  arrest.  Is  Cdrizet 
wrong  in  believing  that  you  have  twenty-five  thousand  francs 
in  your  desk?  You  offered  them  to  him;  he  finds  it  only 
natural  that  they  should  not  make  their  home  with  you." 

"  I  am  greatly  obliged  for  the  course  you  have  taken,  my 
dear  maitre,"  said  Theodose;  "I  expected  this  attack." 

"Between  ourselves,"  replied  Desroches,  "you  jollied  him 
finely.  The  rascal  will  stop  at  nothing  to  be  revenged  upon 
you,  for  he  will  lose  all  if  you  are  willing  to  cast  off  your 
robe,  throw  it  to  the  sharks,  and  go  to  prison." 

"Me?"  exclaimed  Theodose.  "I  shall  pay  him.  But 
even  then  he  will  still  retain  five  acceptances  of  mine,  each  of 
which  is  for  five  thousand  francs :  what  does  he  mean  to  do 
with  them?" 

"  Oh !  after  the  affair  of  this  morning,  it  is  impossible  to 
guess ;  but  my  client  is  a  crafty,  mangy  dog,  and  has,  without 
a  doubt,  his  little  schemes." 

"See,  now,  Desroches,"  said  Theodose,  taking  the  hard, 
lean  lawyer  by  the  waist ;  "  have  you  not  got  the  notes?  " 

"Will  you  pay  them?" 

"Yes;  in  three  hours." 

"Good;  then  be  at  my  place  at  nine  o'clock;  I'll  receive 
the  cash  and  give  you  the  acceptances ;  but,  mind,  at  half-past 
nine  they  pass  to  Louchard." 

"All  right,  this  evening  at  nine  o'clock,"  said  Theodose. 

"At  nine,"  said  Desroches,  embracing  the  whole  company 
in  a  comprehensive  glance. 


184  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

At  daybreak  the  following  morning,  Theodose  went  to  the 
banker  of  the  poor  to  see  what  effect  his  prompt  payment  had 
had  upon  his  enemy,  and  to  make  one  more  effort  to  rid  him- 
self of  his  horse-fiy. 

He  found  Cerizet  in  colloquy  with  a  woman ;  he  was  im- 
peratively requested  to  keep  at  a  distance  and  not  to  interrupt 
the  interview.  Theodose  had  a  presentiment,  though  a  vague 
one,  that  the  result  of  this  conference  would  in  some  wise 
affect  Cerizet's  arrangements  as  to  himself,  for  he  saw  on  his 
face  the  change  that  comes  of  hope. 

*'  But,  my  dear  Mamma  Cardinal '* 

"Yes,  my  worthy  sir " 

**What  do  you  want?  " 

"It  must  be  decided " 


These  beginnings  and  ends  of  sentences  were  the  only 
gleams  of  light  on  the  animated  conversation. 

Mme.  Cardinal  was  one  of  Cerizet's  first  customers;  she 
was  a  fish-hawker.  As  she  stood  in  Cerizet's  office  she  had 
all  the  value  of  an  isolated  masterpiece  of  her  kind ;  she  was  a 
perfect  type  of  her  species. 

She  was  mounted  on  muddy  sabots — peasants'  wooden  shoes 
— but  her  feet,  beside  being  well  inclosed  in  gaiters,  were 
further  protected  by  good,  thick  woolen  stockings.  Her 
print  dress,  enriched  with  flounces  of  mud,  bore  the  imprint 
of  the  strap  which  supported  the  huckster's  basket,  cutting 
across  the  back  to  below  the  waist.  Her  principal  garment 
was  a  shawl  of  rabbit-skin  cashmere,  so-called,  the  two  ends 
of  which  were  knotted  behind  above  her  bustle — for  only  this 
fashionable  word  will  properly  describe  the  cabbage-like  effect 
produced  by  the  pressure  of  the  basket  upon  her  form.  A 
coarse  neckerchief  served  as  a  fichu,  which  revealed  a  red 
throat  covered  with  wrinkles,  like  the  surface  of  the  ice  on 
the  Villette  pond  after  skating.  Her  coiffure  was  a  yellow 
bandanna  twisted  into  the  shape  of  a  picturesque  turban. 

Short  and  stout,  a  skin  rich  in  color,  Mother  Cardinal  took 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  185 

her  morning  nip  of  brandy.  She  had  once  been  handsome. 
The  Market  had  reproached  her,  in  their  vigorous  figure  of 
speech,  of  having  earned  more  than  one  day's  wages  at  night. 
Her  voice,  to  be  brought  down  to  the  pitch  of  ordinary  con- 
versation, had  to  be  stifled  by  her  as  is  done  in  a  sick-room ; 
but  then  it  came  out  thick  and  mufiled  from  a  throat  so  used 
to  shouting  the  names  of  each  fish  in  its  season  in  a  tone  to 
reach  the  deepest  recess  of  the  highest  garrets.  Her  nose, 
a  la  Roxelane,  her  well-shaped  mouth,  her  blue  eyes,  all  that 
had  at  one  time  made  up  her  beauty,  was  now  buried  in  folds 
of  vigorous  fat  which  plainly  told  of  an  open-air  life  and 
occupation.  The  stomach  and  bust  could  have  been  recom- 
mended as  being  of  an  amplitude  worthy  of  Rubens'  pencil. 

"And  do  you  wish  to  see  me  lying  on  straw?"  said  she  to 
C6rizet.  "What  do  I  care  for  the  Toupilliers?  Ain't  I  a 
Toupillier  myself?  Where  do  you  wish  me  to  fish  for  those 
Toupilliers?" 

This  savage  outburst  was  silenced  by  Cerizet  with  a  pro- 
longed "  hush  !  "  always  obeyed  by  every  conspirator. 

"Well,  go  and  see  what  you  can  do  about  it  and  then 
comeback  to  me,"  said  Cdrizet,  pushing  her  toward  the  door 
and  whispering  in  her  ear. 

"Well,  my  dear  friend,"  said  Theodose  to  Cdrizet,  "so 
you  have  got  your  money?" 

"Yes,"  answered  Cerizet;  "we  have  measured  our  claws, 
they  are  equally  sharp,  long,  and  strong.     What  follows?" 

"Am  I  to  tell  Dutocq  that  you  have  received  twenty-five 
thousand  francs? 

"Oh!  my  dear  friend,  not  one  word,  if  you  love  me," 
exclaimed  Cerizet. 

"  Listen,"  said  Theodose.  "  I  must  know  once  for  all  what 
it  is  you  want.  I  have  firmly  made  up  my  mind  not  to  stay 
for  another  twenty-four  hours  on  the  gridiron  to  which  you 
have  bound  me.  You  may  cheat  Dutocq  all  you  like,  I  don't 
care  about  that,  but  I  intend  to  know  where  I  stand.     It  is  a 


186  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

fortune  that  I  have  paid  you,  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  for 
you  must  have  made  ten  thousand  by  your  traffic ;  it  ought  to 
give  you  a  start  as  an  honest  man." 

"  Here  are  my  conditions,  take  them  or  leave  them,  they 
are  not  subject  to  discussion.  You  will  get  for  me  the  lease 
of  Thuillier's  house  for  eighteen  years,  then  I  hand  you  out 
one  of  the  five  acceptances  canceled.  You  won't  afterward 
find  me  in  your  way;  as  to  Dutocq,  you'll  have  to  settle  with 
him  for  the  remaining  four.  You  beat  me ;  Dutocq  is  not 
smart  enough  to  buck  against  you." 

"Agreed,  if  you  will  give  forty-eight  thousand  francs  a 
year  for  the  rent  of  the  house,  the  last  in  advance,  and  begin 
the  tenancy  in  October." 

"Yes,  but  I  shall  only  give  forty-three  thousand  francs  in 
cash,  your  acceptance  will  make  the  balance,  the  forty-eight. 
I  have  had  a  good  look  at  the  house,  I've  examined  it ;  it's 
just  the  thing  I  want." 

"One  last  condition,"  said  Theodose,  "you'll  lend  me  a 
hand  against  Dutocq?" 

"No,"  replied  Cerizet ;  "you  have  done  him  brown 
enough  now,  without  having  me  to  help  you  baste  him :  you 
can  roast  him  dry.  But  be  reasonable.  The  poor  man 
knows  not  which  way  to  turn  to  pay  the  last  fifteen  thousand 
francs  due  on  his  position  ;  you  should  remember  that  you  can 
get  all  your  acceptances  back  for  fifteen  thousand  francs." 

"Well,  give  me  two  weeks  to  get  the  lease." 

"Not  one  day  past  Monday  next.  On  Tuesday  your 
acceptance  for  five  thousand  francs  will  be  in  Louchard's 
hands,  unless  you  pay  me  on  Monday  or  get  Thuillier  to  grant 
me  the  lease." 

"  Well,  Monday  be  it,  "  said  Theodose,  as  he  shook  hands, 
each  saying:  "So  long." 

For  ten  years  C6rizet  had  seen  a  number  of  people  getting 
rich  by  the  business  of  sub-letting  property.  The  principal 
tenant  is,  in  Paris,  to  the  owner  of  houses  what  farmers  are  to 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  187 

country  landowners.  All  Paris  has  seen  how  a  famous  tailor 
built  at  his  own  cost  a  sumptuous  structure  on  the  site  of  the 
celebrated  Frascati,  paying  as  principal  tenant  fifty  thousand 
francs  as  rent  for  the  building,  which  in  nineteen  years  was  to 
become  the  property  of  the  landowner.  Notwithstanding  the 
cost  of  construction,  about  seven  hundred  thousand  francs, 
those  nineteen  years'  profits  in  the  end  proved  enormous. 

C6rizet  had  seen  the  possibilities  of  the  house  which 
Thuillier  had  "stolen"  (in  his  idea);  he  therefore  arranged 
to  sell  his  banking  business  to  Cadenet  and  the  Widow  Poiret 
for  ten  thousand  francs,  he  had  amassed  thirty  thousand,  and 
the  two  would  enable  him  to  pay  the  last  year's  rent  usually 
demanded  by  Paris  house-owners  on  a  long  lease,  as  a  guar- 
antee. He  fell  asleep  dreaming  of  becoming  a  bourgeois,  a 
Minard,  a  Thuillier.  But,  lo,  he  had  a  waking  of  which  he 
h^  not  dreamt.  He  found  Fortune  standing  before  him, 
pouring  out  riches  from  a  gilded  horn,  in  the  person  of 
Madame  Cardinal. 

Now  Mme.  Cardinal,  widow  of  a  porter  in  the  Market,  had 
an  only  daughter  whose  beauty  C^rizet  had  often  heard  tell 
of  by  her  mother's  cronies.  Olympe  Cardinal  was  about 
thirteen  when,  in  1837,  Cerizet  began  to  "bank"  in  the 
quarter;  and  with  a  view  to  infamous  libertinism,  he  had  paid 
much  attention  to  the  mother,  whom  he  had  rescued  from 
abject  poverty,  hoping  to  make  Olympe  his  mistress ;  but  in 
1838  the  daughter  left  her  mother  and  had  undoubtedly 
"made  her  own  life,"  to  use  the  term  given  by  the  Parisian 
populace  to  the  destruction  of  the  most  precious  gifts  of 
nature  and  youth. 

Searching  for  a  girl  in  Paris  is  like  looking  for  a  minnow  in 
the  Seine ;  it  is  all  chance  if  it  comes  to  net.  The  chance 
came.  Mother  Cardinal,  who  was  standing  treat  to  a  chum, 
visited  the  Bobino  Theatre,  where  she  recognized  in  the  lead- 
ing lady  her  own  daughter,  and  who  for  three  years  had  been 
under  the  domination  of  the  first  comedian.     The  mother  at 

U 


188  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

first  was  flattered  to  see  her  daughter  in  a  lovely  gauze  be- 
spangled attire,  her  hair  dressed  like  that  of  a  duchess,  wear- 
ing clocked  stockings,  satin  shoes,  and  applauded  when  she 
appeared ;  but  she  ended  by  howling  from  her  seat : 

**  You  shall  hear  from  me  again,  murderess  of  your  mother  1 
I'll  soon  know  whether  measly  play-actors  have  any  right  to 
come  and  debauch  girls  of  sixteen  !  " 

She  waited  at  the  stage-door  to  intercept  her  daughter,  but 
she  had  wisely  dropped  down  from  the  stage  and  gone  out 
with  the  audience. 

The  next  day  Mme.  Cardinal  intended  consulting  C^rizet, 
as  he  was  in  the  office  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  but  before 
arriving  at  his  den  on  the  Rue  des  Poules  she  met  a  porter 
who  lived  in  the  same  house  as  an  old  uncle  of  hers,  one 
Toupillier,  who  told  her  that  the  old  man  had  barely  two 
days  to  call  his  own,  being  in  the  last  extremity. 

"Well,  can  I  help  that?  "  asked  the  Widow  Cardinal. 

"  We  count  on  you,  dear  Madame  Cardinal ;  you  won't 
forget  the  good  advice  we  can  give  you.  Here's  the  thing: 
For  the  last  month  or  so  your  poor  uncle,  who  has  been 
unable  to  get  around,  trusted  us  to  collect  his  rent  for  his 
house  on  Rue  Notre-Dame  de  Nazareth,  and  the  arrears  of 
dividends  due  on  a  Treasury  bond  for  eighteen  hundred 
francs " 

And  now  the  eyes  of  the  Widow  Cardinal  became  staring 
instead  of  wandering. 

"Yes,  my  dear,"  continued  the  nobte  Perrache,  a  little 
humpbacked  porter ;  "and  being  as  how  you  are  the  only  one 
who  ever  thinks  on  him,  why  we  thought  as  you  sometimes 
came  to  see  him  and  brought  him  a  bit  of  fish  at  times,  why, 
as  how  he  might  make  you  his  heir  like." 

"You  might  well  think,  you  old  leather-thumper,"  replied 
Mother  Cardinal  to  the  porter,  who  had  been  a  shoemaker. 
Then  she  hurried  off  at  her  top-rate  of  speed  to  the  wretched 
garret  in  which  her  uncle  lived.     "What?"  said  she,  "my 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  189 

Uncle  Toupillier  rich  !  The  good  beggar  of  the  church  of 
Saint-Sulpice." 

"Ah!"  the  porter  responded,  "but  he  fed  well.  Every 
night  when  he  went  to  bed  he  took  with  him  his  best  friend — 
a  bottle  of  Roussillon  wine.  My  wife  has  tasted  it,  but  he 
told  us  it  was  cheap  stuff,  six-sous  wine." 

"  Don't  you  let  drop  one  word  of  all  this,  my  good  fellow," 
said  the  widow.  "I'll  remember  you  if  anything  comes 
of  it." 

This  Toupillier,  an  old  drum-major  in  the  Guards,  had 
gone  into  the  service  of  the  church  two  years  before  1 789  by 
becoming  the  swiss  (or  sexton)  of  Saint-Sulpice.  The  Revo- 
lution deprived  him  of  that  post,  and  he  fell  into  abject 
poverty.  He  then  took  up  the  profession  of  model,  for  he 
enjoyed  2i  fine  physique. 

When  worship  was  again  allowed,  he  resumed  his  staff;  but  in 
1816  he  was  dismissed,  as  much  on  account  of  his  immorality  as 
for  his  political  opinions ;  he  passed  as  a  Bonapartist.  Never- 
theless, as  a  sort  of  pension,  he  was  allowed  to  stand  by  the 
door  and  distribute  the  holy  water.  Later  on  an  unfortunate 
business,  which  will  presently  be  related,  caused  him  to  lose 
his  holy  sprinkler ;  but,  still  finding  means  to  hang  about  the 
sanctuary,  he  was  finally  suffered  at  the  door  of  the  church  as 
a  licensed  beggar.  At  this  time,  being  seventy-two  years  old, 
he  made  himself  ninety-six,  going  into  business  as  a  cen- 
tenarian. 

In  the  whole  of  Paris  it  was  impossible  to  find  a  beard  and 
hair  such  as  Toupillier's.  He  walked  bent  nearly  double ;  in 
one  trembling  hand  he  carried  a  cane — a  hand  that  looked  as 
if  covered  with  the  lichen  that  grows  on  granite  ;  in  the  other 
he  held  out  the  classic  hat,  greasy,  broad-brimmed,  and  bat- 
tered, into  which  there  tumbled  an  abundance  of  alms.  His 
legs,  swathed  in  rags  and  bandages,  dragged  along  a  pair  of 
wretched  overshoes  of  coarse-matting,  hiding  excellent  com- 
fortable inner  soles  of  cork.    He  smeared  his  face  with  certain 


190  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

ingredients,  which  gave  it  an  appearance  of  some  late  severe 
illness,  and  he  played  the  senility  of  centenarism  most  ad- 
mirably. He  had  become  a  hundred  in  1830,  although  in 
reality  but  eighty  years  old.  He  was  chief  of  the  beggars, 
the  high  muck-a-muck  ;  and  all  others  who  came  to  beg  under 
the  porches  of  the  church,  safe  from  the  persecutions  of  the 
police  by  the  protection  of  the  sexton  and  holy-water  sprinkler 
and  the  parish  church,  had  to  pay  him  a  kind  of  tithing. 

When  an  heir,  a  bridegroom,  or  a  godfather  said,  as  he 
came  out  of  church  :  "  Here,  this  is  for  all  of  you,  don't 
bother  any  of  my  party,"  Toupillier,  named  by  the  sexton, 
his  successor,  to  receive  these  alms,  pocketed  three-quarters 
and  gave  one-quarter  only  to  his  acolytes,  and  their  tribute 
was  one  sou  per  day.  Money  and  wine  were  his  two  last 
passions ;  but  he  regulated  the  second  one,  giving  himself  up 
to  the  first,  not,  however,  neglecting  his  personal  comfort. 
He  drank  only  in  the  evening,  after  dinner,  when  the  church 
was  closed  ;  he  slept  every  night  for  twenty  years  in  the  arms 
of  drunkenness — his  last  mistress.  The  beadle  and  sprinkler, 
with  whom  he  most  likely  had  an  understanding,  would  say 
of  him : 

"  He  is  a  poor  man  of  the  church ;  he  used  to  know  the 
Cure  Languet,  who  built  Saint-Sulpice ;  he  was  sexton  here 
for  twenty  years ;  before  and  after  the  Revolution  ;  he  is  now 
a  hundred  years  old." 

This  best  of  advertisements  lined  his  hat  so  as  none  others 
were  equal  to  it.  He  bought  his  house  in  1826,  and  in  1830 
invested  in  the  Funds.  From  the  two  sources  he  must  have 
made  something  like  six  thousand  francs  per  annum,  and  most 
likely  he  put  some  out  in  Cerizet's  manner,  for  the  cost  of  his 
house  was  forty  thousand  francs,  and  he  had  forty-eight  thou- 
sand in  the  Funds.  His  niece  was  as  much  deceived  by  the 
old  man  as  was  the  public  ;  she  believed  him  to  be  a  most 
miserable  pauper,  and,  when  she  had  any  fish  getting  "  high," 
she  would  carry  some  to  the  poor  man. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  191 

After  making  an  inspection  of  the  sick  man,  Mother  Car- 
dinal hurried  off  to  consult  C^rizet,  for  she  knew  she  was  too 
ignorant  to  be  able,  successfully,  to  get  the  property  unaided. 
The  banker  of  the  poor,  like  the  other  scavengers,  had  at  last 
found  diamonds  in  the  slime  he  had  been  raking  over,  always 
looking  to  pick  up  such  a  chance.  This,  then,  was  the  secret 
of  his  gentle  dealing  with  the  man  whom  he  had  promised 
to  ruin.  He  was  not  the  man  to  shrink  from  a  crime  should 
necessity  arise,  so  especially  when  others  might  do  that  and 
reap  the  benefits. 

"My  Benjamin,"  said  the  huckster,  rushing  into  Cerizet's 
of&ce,  with  a  face  inflamed  as  much  by  cupidity  as  haste,  "  my 
uncle  sleeps  on  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  francs  in 
gold;  and  I'm  sure  that  the  Perraches,  under  pretense  of  car- 
ing for  him,  have  an  eye  on  the  blunt." 

"Shared  up  among  forty  heirs,"  said  Cerizet,  "it  won't 
make  much  of  a  fortune  for  each.  Listen  here.  Mother  Car- 
dinal, I'll  marry  your  daughter ;  give  her  your  uncle's  gold 
and  I'll  leave  to  you  the  Funds  and  the  house  for  life." 

"  Shall  we  run  no  risk?  " 

"None  at  all." 

"  Done  !  "  said  Madame  Widow  Cardinal,  clasping  hands 
with  her  future  son-in-law.  "Six  thousand  francs  a  year — oh  ! 
the  jolly  life  !  " 

"And  a  son-in-law  like  me,  beside,"  added  the  amiable 
Cerizet. 

"Now,"  resumed  he,  after  they  had  embraced  each  other, 
"  I  must  look  over  the  ground.  Do  not  leave  there  ;  tell  the 
porter  you  expect  a  doctor.  I  shall  be  the  doctor ;  when  I 
come  you  mustn't  know  me." 

"You're  no  fool,  you  old  rogue,"  said  la  Cardinal,  giving 
him  a  punch  in  the  stomach  by  way  of  farewell. 

An  hour  after,  Cerizet,  dressed  in  black,  disguised  in  a 
rusty  wig  and  an  artistically  made-up  face,  arrived  in  the 
Rue  Hon  ore-Chevalier,  in  a  coach.     He  asked  the  porter  for 


192  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Toupillier's  address.     He  was  taken  up  the  back  stairs  of  the 
house,  leading  to  the  wretched  garret  occupied  by  the  beggar. 

The  house  in  which  Toupillier  lived  is  one  of  those  which 
have  been  compelled  to  lose  one-half  by  being  cut  through  in 
widening  the  street,  for  the  Rue  Honore-Chevalier  is  one  of 
the  straitest  in  the  Saint-Sulpice  quarter.  The  owner,  for- 
bidden by  law  to  repair  it,  was  compelled  to  rent  out  the 
wretched  building  as  it  was.  The  coach-way  to  the  courtyard 
was  made  in  a  circular  form,  this  shape  being  indispensable  in 
a  street  so  narrow  that  two  carriages  could  not  pass. 

C^rizet  laid  hands  on  the  rope  that  served  as  a  hand-rail  to 
a  kind  of  ladder  that  ascended  to  the  room  where  the  alleged 
centenarian  lay  dying ;  in  this  chamber  was  being  played  the 
odious  spectacle  of  pretended  poverty. 

In  Paris  all  that  is  done  with  an  end  in  view  is  done  to 
perfection.  The  would-be  poor  are  as  clever  in  such  lines  as 
the  stofekeepers  in  dressing  their  show  windows,  or  as  the 
sham  wealthy  are  in  obtaining  credit. 

The  floor  had  never  been  swept ;  the  bricks  had  disappeared 
under  a  litter  of  filth,  dust,  dried  mud,  and  every  kind  of 
rubbish  thrown  down  by  Toupillier.  A  poor  cast-iron  stove, 
with  a  pipe  bricked  into  a  crumbling  fire-place,  was  the  best 
appearing  thing  in  the  lair.  In  a  recess  was  a  bed  with  a 
head-pole  from  which  hung  a  curtain  of  green  serge,  eaten 
into  lace  by  moths.  The  nearly  useless  window  had  a  dense 
coat  of  greese  on  its  panes,  which  dispensed  with  the  necessity 
for  a  curtain.  The  whitewashed  walls  were  fuliginously  tinted 
with  the  smoke  of  wood  and  peat  burned  in  the  stove.  On 
the  mantel  stood  a  broken  water  pitcher,  two  bottles,  and  a 
cracked  plate.  A  miserable,  worm-eaten  bureau  held  his 
linen  and  decent  clothes ;  the  other  furniture  consisted  of  a 
night-table  of  the  commonest  kind,  another  table  worth  about 
forty  sous,  and  two  kitchen  chairs,  with  the  straw  seats  about 
gone.     The  very  picturesque  costume  of  the  centenarian  beggar 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  193 

hung  from  a  nail,  and  below  it,  on  the  floor,  the  shapeless 
coarse  hempen  gaiters  which  served  him  as  shoes,  and,  with 
his  prodigious  staff  and  his  hat,  formed  a  sort  of  panoply  of 
poverty. 

When  C^rizet  entered  the  old  man  did  not  move,  even  on 
hearing  the  groaning  of  the  heavy  door,  armed  with  iron- 
lining  and  furnished  with  bolts  to  secure  his  domicile. 

"Is  he  conscious?"  said  C^rizet,  before  whom  Mme.  Car- 
dinal started  back,  for  she  did  not  recognize  him  until  he 
spoke. 

"Very  nearly,"  said  Mme.  Cardinal. 

"Come  out  on  the  stairs,  for  we  don't  want  him  to  hear 
us.  This  is  what  we  must  do,"  whispered  he  to  his  future 
mother-in-law.  "  He  is  weak,  but  he  isn't  so  very  sick-look- 
ing; we  shall  have  about  eight  days  before  us.  I'll  find  a 
doctor  that  will  suit  us,  do  you  catch  on  ?  I'll  return  later 
with  six  poppy-heads.  In  the  state  he  is,  you  see,  a  good 
strong  tea  of  poppy  will  send  him  off  to  sleep.  I'll  send  you 
in  a  cot-bed,  under  the  pretense  of  your  sleeping  here.  Then 
we'll  move  him  from  one  bed  to  the  other;  thus  when  we've 
counted  the  money  hidden  in  his  mattress  we  can  easily  carry 
it  off.  But  we  ought  to  know  what  sort  of  tenants  there  are 
in  the  barrack.  The  doctor  will  say  that  he  has  some  days 
to  live  and  that  he  should  make  his  will." 

"My  son!  " 

"But  we  must  learn  about  the  occupants;  for  if  Perrache 
gives  the  alarm — so  many  lodgers,  so  many  spies." 

"Bah!  I  know  all  that  already,"  replied  Mme.  Cardinal. 
"  Du  Portail,  the  little  old  man  who  rents  the  second  floor, 
has  charge  of  a  mad  girl  whom  I  heard  called  Lydie  this 
morning  by  an  old  woman  named  Katt.  The  old  man  has 
only  one  servant,  a  valet,  another  old  man  named  Bruno,  who 
does  everything  but  cook." 

"  Well,  we  must  study  the  matter,"  said  he,  in  the  tone  of 
a  man  whose  plans  are  not  yet  decided  upon.     "I'll  go  to 
13 


194  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

the  mayor's  office,  get  Olympe's  register  of  birth,  and  have 
the  banns  published.     Next  Saturday  but  one,  the  wedding," 

**  How  he  goes  it,  this  old  rascal !  "  said  Mother  Cardinal, 
giving  a  frisky  push  with  her  shoulder  to  her  son-in-law. 

As  he  went  downstairs  Cerizet  looked  in  the  rooms  used  as 
workshops  and  counted  the  workers.  Then  he  departed, 
turning  over  in  his  mind  the  numerous  difficulties  that  might 
arise  to  prevent  the  carrying  off  of  the  gold  hidden  under  the 
dying  man. 

"Lift  it  all  at  night,  eh?"  said  he  to  himself;  "why 
those  parties  are  always  on  the  watch ;  and  in  the  day  one 
would  be  seen  by  twenty  people.  It's  hard  to  carry  twenty- 
five  thousand  francs  in  gold  on  one's  self." 

Society  has  two  forms  of  perfection  :  the  first  is  a  stage  of 
civilization  in  which  morality,  being  equally  infused,  does  not 
permit  of  crime  even  in  thought ;  the  Jesuits  have  reached 
this  point,  which  was  presented  in  the  early  church ;  the 
second  is  the  state  of  another  civilization  in  which  the 
mutual  supervision  of  its  citizens  renders  crime  an  impossi- 
bility. The  end  which  modern  society  has  placed  in  view  is 
the  latter,  namely,  that  a  crime  shall  offer  such  difficulties 
that  a  man  must  be  really  without  reason  to  attempt  it.  To 
live  at  ease  crime  must  have  a  sanction  like  that  granted  by 
the  Bourse,  or  like  that  given  to  Cerizet  by  his  clients,  who 
never  grumbled,  and  who  would,  indeed,  be  troubled  in 
mind  if  their  flayer  had  not  been  found  in  his  kitchen  on 
Tuesdays. 

"Well,  my  dear  sir,"  said  the  porter's  wife,  as  Cerizet 
went  past  the  lodge ;  ''  how  is  that  friend  of  God,  the  poor 
man?" 

"I  am  not  the  doctor,"  Cerizet  made  answer,  who  now 
decidedly  renounced  the  part;  "I  am  Madame  Cardinal's 
man  of  business;  I  have  advised  her  to  have  a  cot-bed 
brought  in,  so  she  may  be  here  day  and  night,  though  sh^ 
Riay  have  to  engage;  a  regular  nurse." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  195 

**I  could  give  her  good  service,"  said  Mmc.  Perrache ; 
"I  nurse  women  in  confinement." 

"Well,  we'll  see,"  said  Cerizet.  "I'll  arrange  all  that. 
Who  is  your  second-floor  tenant  ?  " 

"  Monsieur  du  Portail.  He  has  lodged  there  thirty  year. 
He  is  a  man  with  a  good  income,  a  very  respectable  man. 
You  know,  bondholders,  who  live  on  the  Funds.  For  more 
than  eleven  years  he  has  been  trying  to  restore  the  reason 
of  a  daughter  of  one  of  his  friends,  Mademoiselle  Lydie  de 
la  Peyrade.  She  gets  the  best  of  advice,  I  tell  you ;  why, 
only  this  morning  there  were  two  celebrated  physicians  what 
had  a  consultation.  But  up  to  now  nothing  has  cured  her  ; 
they  have  to  watch  her  pretty  close,  too,  I  tell  you  ;  for  at 
times  she  gets  up  in  the  night." 

"  Mademoiselle  Lydie  de  la  Peyrade  !  "  exclaimed  Cerizet. 
**  You  are  quite  sure  that  is  her  name  ?  " 

*'  Madame  Katt,  her  nurse,  who  does  the  little  cooking  for 
the  household,  has  told  me  a  thousand  times,  though,  as  a 
general  thing,  neither  Monsieur  Bruno,  the  valet,  nor  Madame 
Katt  chatter  much.  We  have  been  porters  here  for  twenty 
years  and  haven't  yet  found  anything  out  about  Monsieur  du 
Portail.  Beside  that  he  owns  the  house  alongside.  You  can 
sec  the  door,  there.  Well,  you  see,  he  can  go  out  that  way 
and  receive  his  company  and  us  know  nothing  about  it." 

"  Then  you  didn't  see  the  gentleman  who  is  talking  to  him 
in  the  garden  go  by  this  way  ?  " 

"  Not  much !     Certainly  not !  " 

Now  as  Cerizet  was  coming  down  the  rickety  ladder  he 
had  seen  the  second-floor  tenant  in  conversation  with  the 
Comte  Martial  de  la  Roche-Hugon,  an  important  member  of 
the  government. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Cerizet,  as  he  got  into  the  coach,  **  this  is  the 
daughter  of  Theodose's  uncle.  Du  Portail  may  be  the  bene- 
factor who  one  time  sent  two  thousand  five  hundred  francs  to 
roy  rascal,     I  might  sen^J  an  anonymous  letter  to  the  little 


196  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

old  fellow  telling  him  of  the  danger  that  Monsieur  I'Avocat 
is  in  owing  to  those  twenty-five  thousand  francs'  worth  of 
acceptances. ' ' 

An  hour  later  a  complete  cot-bed  had  arrived  for  Mme. 
Cardinal,  to  whom  the  inquisitive  porter's  wife  offered  her  ser- 
vices to  bring  her  something  to  eat. 

"  Do  you  want  to  see  the  cure?  "  asked  Mme.  Cardinal  of 
the  old  man  ;  she  had  noticed  that  the  arrival  of  the  bed  had 
roused  him  from  his  somnolence. 

"  I  want  some  wine,"  he  replied. 

"  How  do  you  find  yourself  now.  Father  Toupillier  ?  "  asked 
Mme.  Perrache,  coaxingly. 

"I  tell  you  I  want  some  wine,"  repeated  the  old  fellow 
with  a  scarcely  looked-for  insistent  energy. 

"We  must  first  know  if  it  is  good  for  you,  Unky  Bunky," 
said  she,  caressingly.     "Wait  till  the  doctor  gives  his  idea." 

"Doctor  !  I  won't  have  one,"  cried  Toupillier.  "What 
are  you  doing  here,  anyhow?     I  don't  want  anybody." 

"My  good  uncle,  I  just  came  to  know  if  you  could  fancy  a 
bit  of  something  tasty ;  I  have  a  nice  fresh  flounder :  eh  !  a 
ieeniy  flounder  served  with  a  dash  of  lemon-juice  ?  " 

"It's  fine,  is  your  fish,"  answered  Toupillier;  "it  is  real 
stinking ;  the  last  you  brought  me,  six  weeks  ago,  is  still  in 
the  closet ;  you  can  take  it  away  with  you." 

"Gracious  me,  how  ungrateful  sick  people  are,"  said  la 
Cardinal,  speaking  low  to  Lady  Perrache. 

"  Leave  me  alone,  I  want  nobody  here  ;  I  only  want  some 
wine;  leave  me  in  peace,"  said  Toupillier,  angrily. 

"  Don't  get  vexed,  little  uncle ;  we'll  find  you  some  wine." 

"  The  wine  at  six — Rue  des  Canettes,"  cried  the  beggar. 

"Yes,"  said  Mother  Cardinal ;  "but  let  me  count  up  my 
coppers.  I  want  to  get  the  best  he  has  in  the  cellar.  You 
see,  an  uncle  is  a  kind  of  second  father ;  we  ought  to  do  what's 
right  by  him." 

While  speaking  sTie  sat  down,  her  legs  wide  apart,  on  one 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  197 

of  the  two  dilapidated  chairs,  then  turned  out  on  her  apron 
all  the  contents  of  her  pockets:  a  knife,  her  snuff-box,  two 
pawn-tickets,  some  crusts  of  bread,  and  a  handful  of  coppers, 
from  which  she  extracted  a  few  silver-pieces.  Then  spying 
behind  the  night-table  a  dirty  bottle  which  might  hold  about 
two  litres : 

"  Wasn't  it  Rue  des  Canettes  that  he  said?  "  she  asked  the 
portress. 

"  Corner  of  Rue  Guisarde,"  was  the  reply.  *'  Mister  Le- 
grelu,  a  big,  fat  man,  with  fine  whiskers  and  a  bald  head." 
Then,  dropping  her  voice,  "his  six-at  wine  is  the  best  Rous- 
sillon.  It  will  be  quite  sufficient  to  let  him  know  that  you 
come  from  his  customer,  the  beggar  of  Saint-Sulpice." 

"I  don't  need  telling  twice,"  said  la  Cardinal;  she  opened 
the  door  and  made  a  false  start,  for  she  returned  and  said : 
*'  What  does  he  burn  in  the  stove,  in  case  I  need  to  heat  any- 
thing for  him  ?  I  must  get  in  some  food  and  fuel ;  I  hope 
nobody  will  see  what  I  bring." 

"I'll  lend  you  a  rush-basket,"  said  the  ever-officious  por- 
tress. 

"  Thanks  !  I'll  buy  a  market-basket,"  answered  the  fish- 
hawker,  who  was  more  anxious  as  to  what  she  could  carry 
away  than  what  she  might  bring.  "I  guess  there's  an  Au- 
vergnat  somewhere  about  here  who  sells  wood  and  charcoal  ?  " 

"At  the  corner  of  the  Rue  Ferou — you'll  easily  find  the 
place ;  a  fine  establishment,  where  the  logs  are  painted  on  an 
awning  like  so  many  bottles ;  they  look  like  faces  that  want  to 
talk  to  you." 

She  had  hesitated,  had  Mme.  Cardinal,  about  leaving  the 
portress  alone  with  the  sick  man.  She  now  acted  a  part  of 
deep  hypocrisy : 

"  Madame  Perrache,"  said  she,  "you  won't  leave  him,  the 
dear  man,  not  till  I  return?  " 

Cerizet  was  yet  undecided  on  the  course  to  adopt ;  when 
alone,  he  saw  the  difficulties  of  playing  doctor,  with  a  nurse, 


198  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

notary,  and  others  complicating  matters.  It  might  be  a  long 
and  troublesome  affair  to  bring  the  old  beggar  to  making  a 
will ',  it  was  true  that,  unless  a  will  was  made,  the  income  in 
the  Funds  and  the  house  in  Rue  Notre-Dame  de  Nazareth 
would  go  to  the  heirs-at-law,  Mme.  Cardinal  only  getting  her 
share.  He  therefore  resolved  on  the  simplest  manoeuvre — the 
poppy-heads.  He  was  on  his  way  back  with  this  simple  nar- 
cotic when  he  encountered  Mme.  Cardinal,  basket  on  arm, 
who  had  already  secured  the  desired  panacea. 

"  So  !  "  said  the  usurer,  "  this  is  how  you  guard  your  post  ?  " 

"I  had  to  go  out  to  fetch  him  some  wine,"  replied  la 
Cardinal,  "  He  howled  like  one  broiling  on  a  gridiron  that 
he  wanted  to  be  left  in  peace,  and  that  he  be  given  his  booze. 
The  man's  idea  is  that  Roussillon  is  the  one  thing  needed  for 
his  cure ;  I'll  give  him  a  bellyful ;  when  he's  boozy,  perhaps 
he'll  be  quieter." 

"Quite  right,"  said  Cerizet,  pompously.  "It  is  bad 
policy  to  contradict  a  sick  person  ;  but  this  wine  can  be  im- 
proved by  medicating  it  with  these  " — lifting  one  of  the  lids 
of  the  basket,  he  here  slipped  in  the  poppy-heads — "it  will 
enable  the  poor  man  to  get  a  nap  for  five  or  six  hours ;  this 
evening  I'll  call  upon  you ;  I  don't  fancy  there'll  be  much  to 
prevent  us  examining  the  value  of  the  heritage." 

"  I  twig !  "  said  Mme.  Cardinal,  with  a  wink. 

When  Mme.  Cardinal  reached  her  uncle's  garret  she  relieved 
Mme.  Pcrrache,  giving  her  adieu  at  the  door,  as  she  received 
a  quantity  of  wood  already  sawed.  Into  an  earthen  pot  of  the 
right  size  to  fit  the  hole  in  the  stoves  of  the  poor  in  which 
they  put  their  soup-kettles — into  this  she  threw  the  poppy- 
heads,  and  poured  over  it  about  two-thirds  of  the  wine  she 
had  brought ;  then  she  lighted  the  fire  under  the  pot  so  as  to 
get  the  decoction  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  crackling  of  the  wood  and  the  warmth  spreading  about 
the  room  brought  Toupillier  out  of  his  stupor.  Seeing  the 
stove  lighted — 


THE    MIDDLE   CLASSES.  19& 

"A  fire  here !  "  cried  he ;  "do  you  want  to  burn  the  house 
down?" 

"  Why,  Unky  Bunky,"  replied  la  Cardinal,  "  this  is  wood 
that  I  bought  myself,  to  warm  your  wine.  The  doctor  doesn't 
wish  you  to  drink  it  cold." 

"Where  is  it,  that  wine?"  asked  Toupillier,  who  was 
calmed  by  the  thought  that  the  fire  was  not  burning  at  his 
expense. 

"It  must  boil  first,"  said  his  nurse  ;  "the  doctor  insisted 
on  that.  Still,  if  you'll  keep  quiet  I'll  give  you  a  little,  just 
to  wet  your  whistle  ;  but  don't  say  anything  about  it." 

"  I  won't  have  a  doctor  come  here  ;  they  are  scoundrels 
who  put  men  out  of  the  world.     Come,  give  me  that  wine." 

When  she  passed  it  to  him  he  grasped  it  with  his  bony, 
eager  fingers,  gulped  it  down  at  a  breath,  and — 

"What  a  little  drop,  and  watered  beside,"  he  said. 

"Ah,  now!  don't  say  that  Unky  Bunky j  I  fetched  it  my- 
self from  old  Legrelu's.  But  when  the  rest  has  simmered  a 
bit  you  can  have  it  all,  the  doctor  says." 

At  the  end  of  fifteen  minutes  she  brought  him  a  cup  filled 
to  the  brim  with  the  mixture.  The  avidity  with  which  he 
drank  it  did  not  permit  him  to  notice  the  taste  of  the  wine, 
but  as  he  swallowed  the  last  drops  the  bitter,  nauseating  taste 
betrayed  itself ;  he  flung  the  cup  on  the  bed  and  cried  out  _ 
that  she  had  poisoned  him. 

"Get  out!  there  is  your  poison,"  replied  the  huckster, 
pouring  the  few  drops  that  remained  into  her  own  mouth, 
declaring  that  if  the  wine  did  not  taste  as  usual  it  was  because 
his  mouth  had  a  "  bad  taste." 

Before  the  dispute  was  ended  the  narcotic  began  to  take 
effect ;  in  an  hour  he  was  sound  asleep. 

She  had  an  idea  that  it  would  be  as  well  to  avoid  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  Perraches,  if  they  wished  to  transport  the  treasure, 
so  she  amiably  called  in  the  portress,  after  throwing  out  the 
poppy-heads,  and  said  to  her  : 


200  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  Take  a  taste  of  /us  wine.  You  would  have  thought  when 
you  listened  to  his  talk  that  he  was  ready  for  a  barrel, 
wouldn't  you?     Well,  a  cupful  satisfied  him." 

"  Here's  to  you  !  "  said  the  portress,  clinking  glasses  with 
la  Cardinal,  who  was  careful  to  fill  her  glass  with  the  natural 
wine. 

A  less  distinguished  connoisseur  than  the  beggar,  Mme. 
Perrache  found  nothing  amiss  in  the  insidious  liquid,  for 
when  she  drank  it  had  become  cold  ;  she  declared  that  it  was 
quite  velvety  and  wished  her  husband  could  have  had  some. 
After  a  long  gossip  the  two  separated.  Mme.  Cardinal  ate 
some  food  and  then  indulged  in  a  siesta  which  lasted  until 
dark. 

She  had  barely  taken  a  glance  at  Toupillier  when  a  cautious 
knock  was  heard  on  the  door,  and  Cerizet  entered. 

"  Well  ?  "  said  he,  as  he  came  in. 

"Well,  he's  taken  the  dose.  He's  been  for  these  four 
hours  as  dead  as  Jesus.  He  was  dreaming  and  talking  of  dia- 
monds, just  now." 

"  These  beggars  pile  up  everything  when  they  get  miserly," 
said  Cerizet. 

**  By-the-by,  little  father,  what  was  your  idea  in  telling 
Mme.  Perrache  that  you  are  my  man  of  business  and  not  a 
doctor?  It  was  arranged  this  morning  that  you  were  to 
come  as  a  doctor " 

**  I  saw  that  the  woman  was  going  to  propose  a  consulta- 
tion, so  I  got  out  of  it  like  that." 

**  Did  they  notice  you  come  in,  those  porters  ?  " 

**  It  seemed  to  me  that  the  woman  was  asleep  in  her  chair," 
replied  Cerizet. 

"  She  should  be — sound,"  said  la  Cardinal,  with  a  signifi- 
cant shrug. 

"  What !     Really  ?  "  asked  C6rizet. 

^'Parbleu!'"  said  the  fish-hawker.  "Enough  for  one  is 
enough  for  two ;  I  gave  her  the  rest  of  the  dose." 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  301 

"As  to  her  husband,"  said  Cerizet,  "  he  is  there,  for  as  he 
drew  his  thread  he  made  me  a  gracious  sign  of  recognition, 
which  I  could  well  have  dispensed  with,  as  I  passed." 

"Leave  it  till  night  has  fallen;  then  we'll  have  a  little 
game  that  will  bother  him." 

In  fact,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  after,  with  a  nerve  that  aston- 
ished the  usurer,  she  carried  through  a  farce  of  seeing  a 
"monsieur"  out,  who  begged  her  to  not  take  such  trouble. 
Making  a  manner  of  seeing  the  pretended  doctor  as  far  as  the 
gate  on  the  street,  half-way  across  the  courtyard  she  pre- 
tended that  the  wind  had  blown  out  her  light,  and,  under  the 
pretext  of  relighting  it,  she  extinguished  Perrache's  light  as 
well.  All  this  play,  accompanied  with  much  gesticulations 
and  loquacious  vociferations,  was  so  cleverly  done,  that  the 
porter  before  any  judge  would  not  have  hesitated  to  make 
oath  that  the  doctor,  whom  he  had  ushered  in  that  evening, 
had  come  down  from  the  beggar's  room  and  left  the  house 
between  nine  and  ten. 

When  she  returned  to  the  room  she  acted  on  Beranger's 
hint  and  hung  up  her  old  shawl  at  the  window,  as  though  to 
screen  Lisette's  amours.  In  the  Luxembourg  life's  stir  is 
over  early.  ,  Before  ten  all  was  quiet,  inside  the  house  as  well 
as  out.  If  it  did  not  take  long  to  find  the  treasure  la  Cardinal 
could  have  the  front  gate  left  open,  so  that  in  case  of  having 
to  fetch  medicine  she  could  get  handily  to  the  drug-store. 
Then  if  the  porters  acted  as  porters  mostly  do,  when  in  their 
first  slumber,  pull  the  cord  of  the  latch  without  getting  out  of 
bed,  Cdrizet  could  get  out  at  the  same  time,  and  they  could 
thus  carry  off  at  least  a  portion  of  the  cash  and  place  it 
securely  away. 

Toupillier,  under  the  brawny  hands  of  the  fish-hawker,  was 
soon  transferred  to  the  other  bed,  and  the  mattress  was  eagerly 
searched.  At  first  they  found  nothing,  and  the  fish-hawker, 
being  pressed  to  explain  how  that  morning  she  was  sure  of 
her  uncle  sleeping  on  one  hundred  thousand  francs  in  gold. 


202  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

was  obliged  to  confess  that  her  conversation  with  Pcrrache 
and  her  brilliant  imagination  were  the  basis  of  her  pretended 
certainty.  Cerizet  was  furious.  After  all  this  time  cherishing 
the  idea  and  hope  of  a  fortune,  and  making  up  his  mind  to 
embark  on  dangerous  and  compromising  undertakings,  in  the 
end  to  find  himself  face  to  face  with  emptiness !  The  disap- 
pointment was  so  cruel  that,  only  that  he  dreaded  an  en- 
counter with  so  muscular  a  future  mother-in-law,  he  would 
have  been  carried  to  extreme  rage. 

At  the  least  he  could  vent  his  choler  in  words.  Rudely 
assailed,  la  Cardinal  would  only  keep  saying  that  all  was  not 
yet  lost,  and,  with  the  faith  that  removes  mountains,  con- 
tinued to  tumble  the  bed  over  from  top  to  bottom. 

So  that  she  might  have  nothing  to  reproach  herself  with,  la 
Cardinal,  notwithstanding  Cerizet's  objections,  who  thought 
it  ridiculous,  insisted  on  removing  the  sacking  of  the  bedstead 
bottom  ;  certainly  the  vainless  search  had  whetted  her  facul- 
ties, for  when  she  lifted  the  wood  frame  she  heard  the  sound 
of  some  small  object,  which  had  become  detached,  as  it  fell 
on  the  floor. 

Ascribing  to  this  detail  a  possibly  undue  importance,  the 
eager  explorer  soon  got  a  light  and  after  some  time  found  a 
small  polished  steel  barrel  among  the  filth,  of  which  the  use 
to  her  was  an  inexplicable  mystery. 

"  That's  a  key  !  "  exclaimed  Cerizet,  who  at  once  changing 
from  indifference  let  his  imagination  off  at  a  gallop. 

"Ah,  ah!  you  see?"  said  la  Cardinal,  triumphantly; 
"but  what  can  it  open?"  added  she,  after  reflection;  "a 
doll's  trunk  ?  " 

"That's  not  all,"  answered  Cerizet.  "  This  is  a  modern 
invention  and  very  strong  locks  may  be  opened  with  this 
little  instrument." 

At  the  same  time  he  made  a  rapid  survey,  embracing  all  the 
furniture  in  the  chamber,  went  to  the  bureau,  drew  out  the 
drawers,  looked  into  the  stove,  under  the  table;  but  not  a 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  203 

thing  could  he  see  of  a  single  lock  which  this  little  key  would 
fit. 

Mme.  Cardinal  struck  a  bright  idea. 

"  Stay,"  said  she ;  "  I  noticed  that  as  he  lay  on  his  bed  the 
old  thief  never  ceased  to  keep  his  eye  on  the  wall  opposite 
him." 

"A  closet  concealed  in  the  wall?  anyway  that's  not  im- 
possible," said  Ceiizet,  taking  up  the  candle. 

After  he  had  carefully  examined  the  door  in  the  alcove 
whic'ii  faced  the  head  of  the  bed,  he  found  nothing  but  heavy 
hangings  of  cobwebs  and  dust.  He  then  tried  the  sense  of 
touch,  which  is  occasionally  keener,  and  sounded  and  felt  the 
wall  all  over.  At  the  spot  where  Toupillier  had  ever  kept  his 
eyes  he  found  a  circumscribed  space  which  was  certainly  hollow ; 
and  it  was  wood.  He  rolled  his  handkerchief  into  a  ball  and 
rubbed  the  spot  hard,  and  under  the  layer  of  dirt  thus  cleaned 
he  found  a  little  oak  board  closely  adjusted  in  the  wall ;  on 
one  end  of  this  board  was  a  little  round  hole,  this  was  the 
keyhole  that  the  key  fitted. 

While  Cerizet  unlocked  the  door,  which  he  did  without 
difficulty,  la  Cardinal,  who  held  up  the  candle,  became  pale 
and  gasping ;  but,  cruel  disappointment,  the  closet  was  opened 
and  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  an  empty  space.  Leaving 
the  fury  to  fulminate  her  despairing  exclamations  and  to 
salute  her  uncle's  soul  with  every  conceivable  abusive  epithet 
of  which  she  could  think,  Cerizet  kept  calm  and  quiet. 

After  putting  his  arm  in  the  opening  and  around  the  bottona 
of  it,  he  cried  : 

"  Here  is  an  iron  box  !  " 

Then  he  snatched  the  candle  out  of  the  bottle  in  which  it 
was  stuck  and  moved  it  around  the  iron  cover  he  had  found. 

"It  has  no  keyhole,"  said  he;  "it  must  have  a  secret 
lock." 

After  feeling  about  it  for  some  time  he  said  : 

"Ah!  I  have  it."     Under  the  pressure  of  his  fingers  the 


204  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

lid  sprang  open.  During  this  time  Mme.  Cardinal's  life 
seemed  to  be  suspended.  The  iron  side  had  arisen,  and, 
among  a  mass  of  gold  thrown  loosely  into  a  deep  recess,  lay 
a  red  morocco  case,  which  from  its  size  and  general  appear- 
ance promised  magnificent  booty. 

"I  take  the  diamonds  for  the  dot,''^  said  Cerizet,  when  he 
saw  the  splendid  jewels  it  contained.  "  You,  my  mother, 
would  not  know  how  to  dispose  of  them  ;  I'll  leave  the  gold  for 
your  share.  As  to  the  Funds  and  the  house,  they  are  not 
worth  the  trouble  of  getting  the  worthy  man  to  make 
another  will." 

"Just  a  minute,  my  boy!"  replied  la  Cardinal,  who 
found  this  division  rather  too  summary;  "we  will  first  count 
the  cash." 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Cdrizet,  stopping  in  a  listening  attitude. 

"Why?"  asked  la  Cardinal. 

Cerizet  made  her  a  sign  to  remain  silent,  and  listened  with 
more  attention. 

"I  hear  the  sound  of  steps  on  the  stairs,"  said  he  soon 
after ;  then  he  hastily  restored  the  jewel-case  in  the  closet  and 
vainly  tried  to  lower  the  panel. 

"  Indeed,  yes,  somebody  is  coming.  Ah,  bah  !  it  is  only 
the  mad  girl,  I  suppose;  she  does  walk  in  the  night." 

If  it  was  the  insane  girl  she  had  a  key  to  the  room,  for  it 
was  inserted  in  the  lock ;  la  Cardinal  was  too  late  in  trying 
to  bolt  the  door,  so  blew  out  the  light  to  give  less  chances  of 
discovery  by  the  darkness.  Useless  precaution  !  the  spoil- 
sport carried  a  candle  in  his  hand. 

When  she  saw  that  the  intruder  in  their  business  was  a  little 
old  man  of  puny  appearance,  Mme.  Cardinal,  her  eyes  flam- 
ing, sprang  before  him,  like  a  lioness  seeking  to  protect  her 
cubs  from  the  hunter. 

"Calm  yourself,  my  good  lady,"  said  the  old  man, 
banteringly,  **  the  police  are  sent  for,  they  will  be  here  in  a 
moment." 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  205 

The  word  "  police  "  broke,  as  the  common  saying  is,  Mme. 
Cardinal's  legs. 

"But,  monsieur,  the  police!"  said  she;  "we  are  not 
robbers." 

"Just  the  same,  were  I  in  your  place,  I  shouldn't  wait  for 
them,"  said  the  little  old  man;  "  they  make  unfortunate  mis- 
takes at  times." 

"  Can  1  get,  then  ?  "  said  the  fish-hawker,  incredulously. 

"Yes,  when  you  return  to  me  anything  that  may  by  acci- 
dent have  gotten  into  your  pockets." 

"  Oh  !  my  good  sir,  I  have  nothing  in  my  hands,  nothing 
in  my  pockets;  I  wouldn't  harm  anybody  in  the  world  ;  I  am 
only  here  to  look  after  this  poor  cherub,  my  uncle ;  search  me 
if  you  want  to." 

"  That  will  do ;  now  get  out,"  said  the  old  man. 

The  fish-hawker  needed  no  second  telling,  but  rapidly 
scuttled  down  the  stair.  C6rizet  seemed  about  to  take  the 
same  way. 

"You,  monsieur,  that  is  another  matter,"  said  the  old  man  ; 
"  you  and  I  can  have  a  little  chat  together ;  but  if  you  prove 
tractable,  things  may  be  satisfactorily  arranged." 

It  may  be  that  the  effects  of  the  narcotic  had  ceased,  for 
Toupillier  now  opened  his  eyes  and  looked  about  him  with  the 
manner  of  a  man  who  wonders  where  he  is ;  then,  seeing  his 
closet  open,  he  cried  out :  "  Thieves  !  thieves  !  " 

"  No,  Toupillier,"  said  the  little  old  man  ;  "  you  have  not 
been  robbed;  I  arrived  in  time;  nothing  has  been  touched." 

"And  you,  why  don't  you  arrest  that  villain  ?"  said  the 
beggar,  pointing  to  Cerizet. 

"Monsieur  is  not  a  thief,"  replied  the  old  man  ;  "  on  the 
contrary,  he  came  up  with  me  to  give  me  his  help."  Then, 
turning  to  Cerizet,  he  said :  "I  think,  my  friend,  that  we  had 
better  postpone  our  interview  until  the  morrow.  At  ten 
o'clock  come  to  the  next  house  and  inquire  for  Monsieur 
du  Portail." 


206  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Cirizet,  finding  that  he  was  not  to  be  treated  more  rigor- 
ously than  Mme.  Cardinal,  gave  his  promise  and  slipped 
away;  more  especially  as  the  little  monsieur  had  recognized 
him  as  the  **  brave  Cerizet." 

The  next  day  Cerizet  did  not  fail  to  appear  at  the  rendez- 
vous, as  directed.  He  was  ushered  into  the  study  of  Du 
Portail,  whom  he  found  writing.  Without  rising,  he  made  a 
sign  that  his  guest  be  seated  and  went  on  with  his  letter. 
When  it  was  finished  he  rang  for  Bruno,  his  valet,  and, 
giving  him  the  letter,  he  said : 

"  For  Monsieur  the  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  the  arrondisse- 
ment." 

Then  he  carefullly  wiped  the  steel  pen  that  he  had  used, 
symmetrically  replaced  all  the  articles  that  he  had  moved  on 
his  desk,  and  it  was  only  when  these  little  matters  had  been 
duly  attended  to  that  he  turned  to  Cerizet  and  said  : 

"  You  know  that  we  have  lost  poor  Monsieur  Toupillier  in 
the  night?" 

"Truly,  no,"  said  Cdrizet,  putting  on  the  best  look  of 
sympathy  he  could  assume.  '  '■  This  is  my  first  tidings  of 
it." 

"  You  at  least  might  have  expected  it ;  when  one  gives  a 
dying  man  a  big  bowl  of  hot  wine,  narcotized  beside,  for, 
after  drinking  but  a  little  glass,  Perrache's  wife  lay  in  a  leth- 
argy the  whole  night  through,  it  becomes  quite  evident  that 
this  catastrophe  had  been  arranged  for  and  hastened." 

"  I  am  ignorant,  monsieur,"  said  Cerizet  with  dignity, 
"  of  what  Madame  Cardinal  may  have  given  her  uncle. 
Doubtless  I  committed  an  indiscretion  in  helping  that  woman 
to  preserve  her  inheritance  to  which  she  gave  me  assurances 
that  she  had  a  legal  right ;  but  I  am  incapable  of  attempting 
the  life  of  that  old  man;  such  a  thought  never  entered  my 
mind." 

"Was  it  you  that  wrote  me  this  letter?"  said  du  Portail, 
Iprusquely,  offering  a  paper  to  Cerizet. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  207 

"A  letter?"  replied  he,  with  the  hesitation  of  a  man  who 
wonders  whether  to  lie  or  speak  the  truth. 

**  I  have  a  mania  for  autographs ;  I  am  positive  this  is 
yours,  for  I  have  one  of  them  when  the  Opposition  elevated 
you  to  the  glorious  state  of  martyr.  The  letter  you  hold  in 
your  hand  tells  me  of  the  monetary  straits  of  young  la 
Peyrade." 

"Well,"  said  the  man  of  the  Rue  des  Poules,  "as  I  knew 
that  you  had  in  your  care  a  demoiselle  de  la  Peyrade,  I 
guessed  that  you  were  Theodose's  unknown  protector.  Now, 
having  a  sincere  affection  for  that  poor  boy,  it  was  in  his  in- 
terests that  I  made  so  bold " 

"You  were  right,"  interrupted  du  Portail.  "  I  am  pleased 
to  encounter  a  friend  of  his.  It  was  this  that  saved  you  last 
night.  But  what  about  those  twenty-five  thousand  francs' 
worth  of  acceptances  ?     Is  he  leading  a  dissipated  life  ?  " 

"On  the  contrary,"  replied  Cerizet,  "he's  a  puritan. 
He  is  just  on  the  point  of  making  a  wealthy  marriage." 

"  Ah  !  he  is  to  be  married ;  to  whom,  pray  ?  " 

Then  Cerizet  proceeded  to  inform  him  of  the  circumstances 
of  Celeste  Thuillier.  When  he  had  concluded  du  Portail 
said: 

"  But  you  wrote  me  that  those  acceptances  were  in  favor  of 
Monsieur  Dutocq.     Is  it  a  kind  of  matrimonial  brokerage?" 

"Something  of  the  sort,"  said  Cerizet.  "You  know, 
monsieur,  that  such  transactions  are  common  enough  in  Paris ; 
the  clergy  doesn't  disdain  putting  their  finger  in  them." 

"  Well,  even  if  the  marriage  is  a  settled  thing,  I  must  get 
you,  my  dear  sir,  to  put  an  end  to  it ;  I  have  other  views  for 
Thdodose — another  match  to  propose  to  him." 

"Excuse  me,"  replied  Cerizet;  "should  this  marriage  be 
broken  off",  it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  meet  those  ac- 
ceptances. ' ' 

"  Monsieur  Dutocq's  debt,"  replied  du  Portail,  "  you  shall 
yourself  pay  olF.     Should  not  Theodose  prove  amenable  tq 


208  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

my  projects,  those  acceptances  in  our  hands  might  compel 
him  to  do  so ;  you  could  sue  him  in  your  name ;  I  will  pay 
the  notes  and  your  costs  in  suing  Theodose." 

"That's  fair,  I  must  say,  monsieur,"  said  Cerizet.  "Per- 
haps you  may  afford  me  some  light  on  why  you  do  me  the 
honor  of  confiding  this  matter  to  my  hands." 

"You  mentioned  a  minute  ago  the  cousin  of  la  Peyrade, 
Mademoiselle  Lydie  de  la  Peyrade.  That  young  lady,  no 
longer  in  her  first  youth,  for  she  is  nearly  thirty,  is  the  natural 
daughter  of  la  Beaumesnil,  of  the  Theatre-Fran^ais,  and  de  la 
Peyrade,  commissary-general  of  police  under  the  Empire,  the 
uncle  of  your  friend.  At  his  death,  which  occurred  suddenly, 
I,  his  best  friend,  took  upon  myself  the  care  of  his  daughter 
whom  he  passionately  loved." 

"You  have  faithfully  performed  that  duty,"  said  Cerizet, 
anxious  to  let  the  other  know  that  he  was  acquainted  with 
some  details  of  his  inner  life. 

"  Yes,"  answered  du  Portail,  "  the  poor  child  was  so  cruelly 
tried  by  the  death  of  her  father  that  her  mind  became  some- 
what affected.  But  fortunately  a  change  has  occurred  for  the 
better ;  yesterday  Doctor  Bianchon  and  two  other  eminent 
physicians  in  consultation  declared  that  marriage  and  a  first 
child  would  infallibly  restore  her.  You  can  well  see  that  the 
remedy  is  too  easy  and  too  pleasant  not  to  be  given  a  trial." 

"  Then,"  said  Cerizet,  "  it  is  to  his  cousin  that  you  propose 
to  marry  Theodose." 

"You  have  said  it,"  replied  du  Portail.  "You  must  not 
suppose,  though,  that  by  accepting  this  marriage  he  is  dis- 
playing a  gratuitous  devotion.  Lydie  is  agreeable  in  her  per- 
son, is  talented,  has  a  charming  nature,  and  can  bring  high 
favor  to  bear  in  her  husband's  behalf.  She  has  also  a  pretty 
fortune,  and  my  property  will  be  wholly  secured  to  her  in  the 
contract;  and,  added  to  this,  she  has  inherited  an  important 
accession  the  past  night." 

"How!"  said  Cerizet;  "has  that  old  Toupillier ?" 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  209 

"  By  a  holograph  will,  which  I  have  here,  the  beggar  con- 
stitutes her  his  universal  legatee ;  you  see  it  was  our  property 
you  and  Madame  Cardinal  were  trying  to  pillage.  Beside, 
the  will  only  makes  a  restitution." 

"A  restitution  !  "  exclaimed  Cerizet. 

"A  restitution,"  repeated  du  Portail,  "and  nothing  is 
easier  to  establish.  You  remember  the  theft  of  diamonds 
from  one  of  our  dramatic  celebrities  some  ten  years  ago?  " 

"Yes,  certainly;  the  actress  who  lost  them  was  the  famous 
Mademoiselle  Beaumesnil." 

"  Precisely,  the  mother  of  Lydie  de  la  Peyrade." 

"  So  that  the  wretched  Toupillier But  no,  I  remem- 
ber, the  thief  was  convicted.  He  was  known  as  Charles 
Crochard.  He  was  said  to  be,  under  the  rose,  the  natural 
son  of  a  great  personage,  the  Comte  de  Granville." 

"  Well,"  said  du  Portail,  "  it  happened  thus :  The  robbery, 
you  remember,  was  committed  in  a  mansion  on  the  Rue  du 
Tournon,  occupied  by  Mademoiselle  Beaumesnil.  Charles 
Crochard,  a  handsome  fellow,  had  the  run  of  her  house." 

"Yes,  yes,"  said  Cdrizet,  "I  recall  her  embarrassment 
when  she  gave  her  testimony ;  and  also  how  she  lost  her  voice 
when  asked  her  age." 

"The  robbery,"  continued  du  Portail,  "was  audaciously 
committed  in  the  daytime ;  no  sooner  had  Crochard  got  the 
casket  than  he  went  to  the  church  of  St.  Sulpice,  where  he 
had  arranged  to  meet  an  accomplice.  He  was  to  receive  the 
diamonds  from  his  hands,  and,  having  a  passport  already  pro- 
vided, he  was  to  at  once  start  for  foreign  parts.  It  chanced 
that  the  expected  one  was  detained  for  some  time  and  was 
late  in  arriving  at  the  church.  Charles  Crochard  found  him- 
self face  to  face  with  a  celebrated  detective  who  knew  him 
perfectly  well,  as  the  young  rogue  had  had  several  encounters 
with  the  police  already.  The  absence  of  his  friend,  the 
rencounter  with  the  detective,  and  a  rapid  movement  made 
by  the  latter  troubled  his  mind ;  he  thought  he  was  being 
14 


210  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

watched.  He  lost  his  head  under  this  idea,  and  wished  him- 
self well  rid  of  his  prize.  At  this  moment  he  caught  sight  of 
Toupillier,  then  the  holy-water  distributer.  '  My  dear  fel- 
low,' said  he,  assuring  himself  that  no  one  could  hear  him, 
*  will  you  oblige  me  by  taking  care  of  this  little  parcel  ?  It 
is  a  box  of  lace.  I  am  about  calling  on  a  countess  to  collect 
a  bill ;  if  she  saw  this  she  would  want  it  on  credit ;  that  I  don't 
want  to  do.  But,'  added  he,  '  on  no  account  touch  the  paper 
wrapper,  for  there  is  nothing  so  difficult  as  to  rewrap  it  in  the 
old  creases.'  " 

"The  dummy  !  "  exclaimed  Cerizet,  na'ively ;  "  why,  it  was 
a  recommendation  for  the  man  to  open  it." 

"You  are  a  practiced  moralist,"  said  du  Portail.  "One 
hour  after,  Crochard,  finding  nothing  happened  to  him,  pre- 
sented himself  at  the  church  to  recover  his  deposit.  Toupil- 
lier was  no  longer  in  the  place.  You  can  figure  to  yourself 
how,  on  the  next  day,  at  first  mass,  Charles  Crochard  ap- 
proached the  holy-water  distributer,  who  had  returned  to  the 
performance  of  his  duty ;  but  night,  as  they  say,  brings  coun- 
sel ;  the  dear  man,  with  bold  effrontery,  declared  that  nothing 
had  been  left  with  him,  and  he  did  not  know  what  he  was 
talking  about." 

"And  not  the  least  good  to  argue  about  it,"  said  Cdrizet, 
who  was  not  far  from  sympathizing  in  so  bold  a  play,  "  for 
that  would  have  meant  exposure." 

"  No  doubt  the  robbery  was  already  noised  around,"  du 
Portail  went  on,  "  and  Toupillier,  a  smart  fellow,  had  rightly 
calculated  that  the  thief  by  accusing  him  would  discover  him- 
self. In  the  trial  Charles  Crochard  never  spoke  one  word  of 
his  misadventure,  and,  condemned  to  ten  years,  six  of  which 
he  passed  on  the  hulks,  during  his  incarceration  he  did  not 
open  his  lips  about  the  treachery.  In  that  interval  Madame 
Beaumesnil  died,  leaving  her  daughter  some  small  remains  of 
a  great  fortune ;  she  mentioned  the  diamonds,  and  expressly 
stated  that  they  became  hers,  *  if  they  were  ever  recovered.'  " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  211 

"Ah  !  "  said  Cerizet,  "  that  made  it  bad  for  Toupillier,  for 
having  a  man  of  your  mettle  to  deal  with " 

"All  thoughts  of  Charles  Crochard  were  first  turned  to 
vengeance  on  his  release ;  he  denounced  Toupillier  as  the 
receiver  of  the  casket.  Taken  under  hand  by  Justice,  he 
defended  himself  most  good-humoredly,  singularly  so,  and 
proved  that  no  suspicion  attached  to  him,  and  the  case  was 
dismissed.  But  this  affair  cost  Toupillier  his  position ;  he 
obtained,  not  without  difficultyj  the  right  of  begging  in  the 
porch  of  St.  Sulpice.  As  for  myself,  I  was  satisfied  of  his 
guilt,  and,  without  being  suspected,  I  had  the  closest  watch 
kept  upon  him ;  in  order  to  unmask  him,  I  did  one  of  the 
smartest  tricks  in  my  life.  I  became  the  tenant  of  the  room 
adjoining  his  on  the  Rue  Cceur- Volant ;  I  drilled  a  hole 
through  the  party-wall,  and  one  evening  saw  him  take  out  the 
casket  from  a  cleverly  contrived  hiding-place,  open  it,  and 
gaze  upon  the  contents  and  fondle  them.  The  man  loved 
them  for  themselves  alone ;  he  had  no  thought  of  converting 
them  into  money." 

**I  understand,"  said  Cerizet,  "a.  mania  of  the  same  kind 
as  Monsieur  Cardillac,  the  jeweler,  which  has  just  been  drama- 
tized." 

"The  same,"  returned  du  Portail ;  "  the  wretch  was  in  love 
with  them,  so  that  when  I  entered  his  room  and  told  him  I 
knew  all,  he  asked  me  not  to  dispossess  him  of  them  while  he 
lived,  and  at  his  death  his  whole  hoard  of  gold,  his  cash  in 
the  Funds,  and  his  house  should  become  the  heritage  of  Made- 
moiselle de  la  Peyrade. 

"  Well,  my  dear  sir,  I  was  not  mistaken  in  trusting  him. 
I  exacted  that  he  should  occupy  a  room  in  the  same  house  as 
myself;  I  assisted  in  building  that  hiding-place  of  his,  the 
secret  of  which  you  so  ingeniously  discovered ;  but,  in  your 
ignorance,  you  did  not  discover  that  when  you  touched  the 
secret  spring  you  also  rang  a  bell  in  my  chamber  which 
warned  me  of  any  attempt  to  steal  our  hoard." 


212  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Poor  Madame  Cardinal,"  cried  Cdrizet,  with  pleasantry, 
"she  counted  her  chickens  too  soon." 

"  Now,  on  account  of  the  interest  I  feel  in  the  nephew  of 
my  late  friend,  this  marriage  seems  to  me  most  desirable," 
said  du  Portail.  "  Theodose  may  object,  owing  to  his  cousin's 
mental  state.  You  have  turned  up  on  my  way ;  you  are  smart 
and  crafty,  so  I  put  this  matrimonial  negotiation  in  your 
charge.  You  may  speak  to  him  of  a  pretty  girl  with  a  good 
fortune,  with  one  slight  drawback,  but  mention  no  names." 

"Your  confidence  honors  me,"  replied  Cerizet ;  "I  will 
justify  it  to  the  best  of  my  ability." 

"Get  those  acceptances  from  Dutocq;  we  shall  not  haggle 
over  a  few  thousand  francs,  but  when  the  affair  is  arranged 
Dutocq  must  give  us  his  assistance.  After  what  you  have  told 
me  of  the  other  marriage,  you  can  scarcely  waste  any  time," 
concluded  du  Portail. 

"Two  days  hence  I  have  an  appointment  with  Thdodose," 
said  Cerizet. 

"  So  be  it,"  said  du  Portail ;  "  that  is  not  delaying  much. 
Now,  remember,  monsieur,  if  you  succeed  you  have  a  man 
who  may  assist  you,   instead  of  bringing  you  to  account." 

Then  the  pair  separated. 

The  same  as  the  Tourniquet  Saint- Jean,  the  Rocher  de  Can- 
cale,  whence  this  scene  is  changed  to,  is  to-day  but  a  memory. 
A  wine-dealer  who  uses  a  pewter-topped  counter  has  replaced 
that  Temple  of  Taste,  that  sanctuary  of  European  fame,  which 
had  seen  the  passing  of  gastronomy  under  the  Empire  and 
the  Restoration. 

The  evening  of  the  day  arranged  upon  for  a  meeting  la 
Peyrade  had  received  this  simple  word  from  Cerizet : 

"  To-morrow,  lease  or  no  lease,  at  the  Rocher,  at  six 
thirty."  Dutocq  received  his  invitation  by  word  of  mouth; 
but  his  time  was  "quarter  past  six,  sharp."  It  was  evident 
that  Cirizet  wanted  that  fifteen  minutes  with  him  before  the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  213 

arrival  of  la  Peyrade.  That  fifteen  minutes  the  usurer  in- 
tended to  employ  in  jockeying  Dutocq  in  the  purchase  of  the 
acceptances ;  he  thought  a  sudden  proposition  to  purchase 
would  be  accepted  more  readily  than  if  time  were  given  for 
thinking.  Moreover,  let  it  be  said  that  Cerizet  was  bound  to 
try  and  scrape  something  out  of  his  dear  friend  ;  it  was  an 
instinct,  his  nature.  He  had  the  same  horror  of  a  straight 
line  as  the  amateurs  in  English  gardens  have  of  a  straight 
path. 

At  a  quarter  after  six  Dutocq  punctually  made  his  appear- 
ance, for  a  dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale  was  something 
of  an  event. 

"It  is  funny,"  said  he,  "  that  we  again  meet;  the  three 
emperors,  except  that  our  present  tryst  is  preferable  to  our 
former  one." 

"My  faith!"  replied  Cerizet,  "I  don't  quite  know  that 
the  results  justify  the  change,  for,  frankly,  where  are  the 
profits  of  our  triumvirate  ?  " 

"Well,  but  it  was  a  bargain,"  said  Dutocq,  "with  a  long 
term  attached.  It  can't  be  claimed  that  la  Peyrade  has  lost 
much  time,  pardon  the  pun,  in  becoming  installed  at  the 
T{h)uileries.     The  rascal  has  gone  ahead  pretty  fast." 

"  Not  so  fast  but  that  his  marriage  is  anything  but  a  settled 
matter,"  said  Cerizet. 

"Not  settled;  why?" 

"  Yes,  I  am  charged  to  propose  to  him  another  wife.  I  am 
not  so  sure  that  he  will  be  allowed  to  choose." 

"  But  what,  the  devil !  my  dear,  lending  your  hand  to  help 
on  another  marriage  when  you  know  we  have  the  first  hypoth- 
ecated !  ". 

"  My  friend,  one  cannot  always  control  circumstances.  I 
saw  that  the  other  was  gone  overhead  ;  I  look  now  to  guide 
our  feet  to  pastures  new." 

"They  can't  fool  me  :  la  Peyrade  signed  the  acceptances 
smd  he  must  pay  them.*' 


«14  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

'*  The  question  is,  will  he  pay  them  ?  You  are  not  a  mer- 
chant, neither  is  Theodose ;  suppose  he  disputes  the  accept- 
ances j  he  might  deny  their  validity.  The  tribunal  might 
annul  them  as  having  been  given  without  consideration  re- 
ceived. Now  you,  as  clerk  to  a  justice,  might  find  that  the 
chancellor  could  have  a  little  case  with  you ;  as  for  myself, 
I've  seen  to  my  interests.  I  choose  to  save  myself  by  a  sac- 
rifice." 

**  What  kind  of  a  sacrifice?  " 

"  Parbleu,  I  have  sold  my  share,"  said  C^rizet. 

"  Who  was  the  buyer?  " 

"  Who,  think  you,  would  step  into  my  shoes  but  those 
urging  on  this  other  marriage?" 

"  Doubtless,  then,  my  share  would  be  of  use  also  ?  " 

**  Well,  you  see,  I  could  not  offer  them  until  I  had  seen 
you." 

"On  what  terms?" 

"I  let  them  have  my  acceptances  for  fifteen  thousand 
francs." 

"  Oh  !  then  your  game  is  to  make  a  commission  out  of 
mine  to  makeup  your  loss — if  you've  had  one — beside,  it  may 
be  but  a  scheme  between  you  and  la  Peyrade,"  said  Dutocq. 

"At  least,  my  dear,  you  don't  mince  your  words;  you 
have  an  infamous  thought  and  state  it  with  charming  aban- 
don." 

"Well,  I  withdraw  the  insinuation,  as  you  say  that  you  are 
going  to  make  the  offer  to  Theodose  in  my  presence." 

"See  here,  my  poor  friend,  how  I  reasoned  ;  I  said  to  my- 
self :  *  This  good  Dutocq  is  being  pressed  for  the  last  pay- 
ment on  his  office ;  he  will  find  enough  to  pay  it  off  at  one 
stroke ;  events  have  shown  that  uncertainties  exist  about  the 
compromising  of  la  Peyrade;  here's  cash  down,  on  the  nail; ' 
the  bargain  ain't  so  bad,  either." 

"All  the  same,  it's  a  loss  of  two-fifths." 

"You  just  spoke  of  commissions;  you  only  help  me  over 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  215 

this  other  matter  and  I  don't  fear  but  what  I  can  obtain  you 
a  round  twenty  thousand  francs." 

"  Then  you  think  this  new  proposal  may  not  be  acceptable 
to  la  Peyrade  ?  Why  should  he  object  ?  Is  it  then  some 
heiress  from  whom  the  rascal  has  already  had  something  !  " 

''All  that  I  can  say  is  that  trouble  is  expected  in  conclud- 
ing it." 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened  and  the  other  guest 
arrived.  "  You  may  serve  dinner,"  said  C^rizet  to  the  at- 
tendant; *'  we  expect  no  one  else." 

They  could  see  that  Th^odose  had  begun  to  take  his  flight 
toward  higher  social  spheres;  elegance  had  become  his  con- 
stant ambition.  He  had  made  an  evening  toilet,  dress  suit 
and  patent-leather  shoes,  while  the  other  two  received  him  in 
loose  coats  and  muddy  boots. 

"Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "I  think  I  am  somewhat  late,  but 
that  devil  of  a  Thuillier,  with  the  pamphlet  I  am  concocting 
for  him,  is  one  of  the  most  intolerable  of  human  beings.  I 
was  so  unfortunate  as  to  arrange  to  revise  the  proofs  with  him; 
at  each  paragraph  we  had  a  fight:  'What  I  don't  under- 
stand,' he  kept  saying,  'the  public  can't  understand,  either. 
I'm  not  a  man  of  letters,  but  I  am  a  practical  man  ; '  and  it 
was  the  same  battle  over  every  sentence.  I  thought  this 
seance  would  never  come  to  an  end." 

"  What  would  you,  my  dear  ?  "  said  Dutocq  ;  "when  a  man 
wants  to  get  there  he  must  have  some  courage ;  once  the  mar- 
riage is  made  you  can  hold  up  your  head." 

"Oh  !  yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I'll  raise  it;  for  since  you 
have  given  me  this  bread  of  bitterness,  I've  become  heartily 
tired  of  it." 

"  Cerizet,"  said  Dutocq,  "  has  to-day  some  more  succulent 
food  to  place  before  you." 

For  the  time  being  nothing  more  was  said,  they  had  to  do 
justice  to  the  goodly  cheer  ordered  for  them  by  Cerizet  in 
honor  of  the  first  tenant.     It  was  not  until  dessert  was  served 


216  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

that  Cerizet  decided  to  ask  la  Peyrade  what  resolution  had 
been  come  to  in  reference  to  the  lease. 

"Nothing,  my  dear,"  replied  la  Peyrade. 

''How,  nothing  ?     I  left  you  time  enough  to  decide  in." 

"  And,  in  fact,  something  is  decided ;  there  will  be  no  first 
tenant.  Mademoiselle  Brigitte  will  herself  sub-let  the  house." 

"That's  a  different  story,"  said  Cerizet,  with  a  lordly  air. 
**  After  your  promise  to  me,  I  avow  that  I  did  not  expect  such 
a  result  as  this," 

"  What  could  I  do,  my  dear  ?  I  made  my  promise  subject  to 
contingencies ;  I  wasn't  able  to  give  another  turn  to  the  busi- 
ness. In  her  quality  as  master-woman  and  sample  of  per- 
petual motion.  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  has  reflected  that  she 
might  as  well  undertake  the  task  of  managing  the  property 
and  pocketing  the  profits  herself  that  you  intended  making. 
I  put  in  all  I  could  about  the  annoyances,  inconveniences,  and 
so  forth,  but  '  Bah  !  rubbish  ! '  she  replied ;  '  it  will  stir  my 
blood  and  be  good  for  my  health.'  " 

"But  this  is  pitiable,"  said  Cerizet;  "  the  poor  old  maid 
doesn't  know  what  it  means  to  get  tenants  from  top  to  bot- 
tom." 

"I  used  all  those  arguments,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "but 
only  to  strengthen  her  resolution.  There  you  are,  my  dear 
democrats,  you  fomented  the  revolution  of  '89  ;  you  thought 
it  an  excellent  speculation  to  dethrone  the  nobles  by  the 
bourgeoisie ;  it  ends  in  yourselves  being  elbowed  out.  It 
seems  like  a  paradox,  but  you've  found  out  now  that  the 
country-jay  can't  be  forced  down  and  kept  under  like  the 
noble.  The  aristocracy  had  a  care  for  its  dignity ;  it  pro- 
hibited itself  a  host  of  petty  details,  even  of  learning  to 
write;  it  found  itself  dependent  on  a  host  of  plebeian  servitors 
to  whom  it  confided  three-fourths  of  the  actions  of  their  lives. 
But  to-day  utilitarian  theories  rule  :  *  We  are  never  so  well 
served  as  by  ourselves.'  'It's  not  disgraceful  to  know  one's 
own  business ; '  and  a  thousand  other  middle-class  proverbs, 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  217 

which  have  done  away  with  the  need  of  intermediaries.  Why 
should  not  Brigitte  Thuillier  have  the  pretensions  to  manage 
her  house,  when  dukes  and  peers  of  France  go  personally  to 
the  Bourse,  when  the  same  persons  sign  their  own  leases,  and 
read  them  first,  and  discuss  every  point  with  the  notary  at 
his  own  place,  one  whom  they  formerly  accounted  as  a  scriv- 
ener?" 

"What  you  are  preaching,"  said  C^rizet,  carelessly,  "is 
mighty  clever ;  but  it  seems  to  prove,  also,  that  you  are  not 
on  such  a  footing  of  intimacy  with  Mile.  Thuillier  as  you 
would  have  us  believe.  I  begin  to  think  that  the  marriage 
is  far  from  being  so  settled  a  matter  as  Dutocq  and  myself 
fancied." 

"  Without  doubt,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "there  are  yet  some 
careful  touches  to  be  given  to  our  sketch  before  it  is  finished, 
but  I  think  it  nears  completion." 

"For  my  part  I  am  of  the  contrary  opinion,  you  have  lost 
ground,  and  the  reason  is  simple ;  you  have  done  an  immense 
service  to  these  people,  and  they  will  never  forgive  you  for 
it." 

"Well,  wait  and  see,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "  I  hold  them  by 
more  than  one  string." 

"  No,  you  are  wrong.  If  I  were  you  I  shouldn't  feel  quite 
so  sure  of  treading  on  solid  ground ;  if  something  else  turned 
up  that  presented  a  good  chance " 

"  What  !  because  I  couldn't  get  you  the  lease  to  eat,  must 
I  throw  the  handle  after  the  axe  ?  " 

"I  repeat  to  you,"  said  Cerizet,  "that  I'm  not  looking  at 
it  from  the  side  of  my  own  interests ;  but  as  you  have  doubt- 
less and  truly  tried  your  level  best  to  promote  them,  I  think 
that  the  way  in  which  you  have  been  pushed  aside  is  a  dis- 
quieting symptom." 

"Ah!  (a/''  said  la  Peyrade,  "what  are  you  getting  at? 
Is  it  that  you  have  something  to  propose  to  me  ?  What's  it 
to  cost?" 


218  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"My  dear  fellow,"  replied  Cerizet,  ignoring  this  imper- 
tinence, "yourself  shall  judge  of  the  value  of  finding  a  young 
woman,  well  brought  up,  adorned  with  beauty  and  talent,  a 
dot  equivalent  to  or  no  less  than  Celeste's,  in  her  own  right, 
plus  one  hundred  thousand  francs  in  diamonds  (as  Mile. 
Georges  says  on  her  posters  in  the  provinces),  beside  political 
influence  for  her  husband's  benefit," 

"And  this  treasure  you  have  in  your  hand?"  asked  la 
Peyrade,  with  an  incredulous  air. 

"  Better  than  that,  I  am  authorized  to  make  you  the  offer ; 
I  may  even  say  that  I  am  charged  so  to  do." 

"  My  friend,  either  you  are  mocking  me,  unless,  as  I  sup- 
pose, this  phoenix  has  some  prohibitory  defect." 

"I  acknowledge,"  said  Cerizet,  "  that  there  exists  one  slight 
defect,  but  not  on  the  score  of  family,  for  she  has  none." 

"Ah  !  "  said  la  Peyrade,  "of  course,  a  natural  child — what 
beside?" 

"Beside?  Well,  she  is  not  so  young  as  to  wear  the  hood 
of  St.  Catherine;  she  is,  say,  about  twenty-nine;  but  an 
elderly  girl  can  be  imagined  into  a  young  widow — nothing 
easier." 

"And  is  that  all  the  venom? " 
"Yes,  all  that  is  irreparable." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  A  case  of  rhinoplasty?  " 
This  so  pertinent  a  word,  as  addressed  to  Cerizet,  was  given 
with  an  aggressive  air;  this  manner,  indeed,  had  been  notice- 
able throughout  the  dinner,  even  in  the  conversation  of  the 
barrister.  But  it  was  not  to  the  purpose  of  the  negotiator 
to  resent  it. 

"No,"  he  responded;   "we  have  as  good  a  nose  as  feet 
and  waist;  but  we  might  perhaps  have  a  touch  of  hysteria." 
"Very  good  !  "  said  la  Peyrade,  "and  as  from  hysteria  to 

insanity  there  is  but  a  step " 

"Well,  yes,"  eagerly  interrupted  C6rizet;  "sorrows  have 
left  our  brain  slightly  deranged,  but  the  doctors,  after  a  care- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  219 

Vul  diagnosis,  say  that  after  bearing  a  first  child  not  the  least 
irace  of  this  trouble  will  remain." 

"  I  willingly  admit  that  Messieurs  the  Doctors  are  absolutely 
infallible,"  replied  the  barrister;  "but,  in  spite  of  your  dis- 
couragements, you  must  excuse  me  if  I  still  continue  to  ad- 
dress Mademoiselle  Colleville.  It  is  perhaps  ridiculous  to 
avow  this,  but  the  fact  is  that  I  am  gradually  falling  in  love 
with  that  little  girl.  It  is  not  that  she  is  very  beautiful,  or 
that  the  glamour  of  her  dot  has  enamored  me,  but  in  that  child 
is  an  innocent  mind  joined  to  sound  sense ;  and,  what  to  my 
mind  is  of  more  consequence,  she  possesses  a  sincere  and  solid 
piety." 

"Yes,"  said  Cerizet,  who,  having  been  on  the  stage,  may 
well  have  remembered  Moliere's:  "Your  hymen  shall  be 
soaked  in  sweetness  and  joy." 

This  allusion  to  Tartuffe  was  keenly  felt  by  la  Peyrade,  who 
hotly  retorted : 

"  The  contact  of  innocence  will  disinfect  me  of  the  vile 
company  I  have  kept  for  so  long  a  time," 

"And  you  will  pay  your  acceptances,  which  I  urge  you  to 
do  without  delay,"  said  Cerizet.  "  Dutocq  here  was  just  say- 
ing that  he  would  like  to  see  the  color  of  your  money." 

"Me?  oh,  not  at  all,"  said  Dutocq;  "I  think,  on  the 
contrary,  our  friend  is  perfectly  right  in  his  delay." 

"Well,  for  myself,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I  am  quite  of 
C^rizet's  opinion  ;  I  hold  that  the  less  the  debt  is  due,  and 
therefore  the  more  insecure,  the  sooner  should  one  free  him- 
self by  paying  it." 

"But,  my  dear  la  Peyrade,"  said  Dutocq,  "you  speak  so 
bitterly." 

Drawing  from  his  pocket  a  portfolio,  la  Peyrade  said : 

"Have  you  the  acceptances  with  you,  Dutocq?" 

"Faith,  no,  dear  fellow,"  said  the  clerk;  "I  don't  carry 
them  around,  beside  they  are  in  Cerizet's  hands." 

"Well,"  said  the  barrister,  as  he  arose,  "whenever  you 

V 


220  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

bring  them  to  my  office,  the  cash  is  ready.  Cerizet  can 
prove  that." 

"What!  are  you  leaving  us  without  waiting  for  coffee?" 
said  the  usurer,  much  amazed. 

"Yes;  at  eight  o'clock  I  have  an  arbitration  case.  Beside, 
all  has  been  said;  you  haven't  got  the  lease,  but  you  have 
gotten  your  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  and  Dutocq  can  have 
his  whenever  he  likes  to  present  his  acceptances  at  my  office ; 
I  don't  see  anything  that  should  prevent  me  going  about  my 
own  affairs,  therefore  I  give  you  a  cordial  good-day." 

*'  Dear  me  !  "  said  Cerizet,  as  la  Peyrade  went  out,  "  this 
means  a  rupture." 

"And  carefully  prepared  at  that,"  remarked  Dutocq. 
"With  what  an  air  he  produced  his  portfolio  !  " 

"But  where  the  devil  did  he  get  his  money?"  asked  the 
usurer. 

"No doubt,"  replied  the  clerk,  ironically,  "whence he  got 
that  with  which  he  paid  off  in  full  your  acceptances  on  which 
you  made  such  a  sacrifice." 

"Well,  I  was  instructed  to  buy  up  your  acceptances;  you 
will  recollect  that  I  had  risen  to  twenty  thousand  when  he 
came  in." 

"  All  right,  when  we  leave  here  we'll  go  to  your  house  for 
those  notes ;  I  mean  to  give  hira  the  chance  to  pay  me  while 
his  humor  is  hot." 

"Quite  correct;  for  I  can  tell  you  right  here  that  there 
will  very  soon  be  an  upset  in  his  life." 

"  Then  you  were  really  serious  about  that  crazy  marrying 
him.  I  must  say  that  I  should  have  adopted  the  same 
course  ;  Ninas  and  Ophelias  are  very  interesting  on  the  stage, 
but  in  our  households " 

"In  the  households,  when  they  bring  a  dot,  we  become 
their  guardian,"  replied  the  sententious  Cerizet.  "Really 
we  get  a  fortune  and  not  a  wife." 

"Let's  have  our  coffee  elsewhere,"  said  C6rizet;  "I  want 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  221 

to  get  out  of  this  room,  I  can't  breathe  in  it."  He  rang  for 
the  gargon  ;  "  the  bill  ?  "  said  he. 

"But,  m'sieur,  it  is  paid." 

"Paid!  and  by  whom?" 

"By  the  gentleman  who  just  left.  Shall  I  bring  in  the 
coffee — it  is  paid  for,  before  he  left  ? ' ' 

"An  excellent  reason  for  refusing  it,"  answered  Cerizet 
angrily.  "It  is  really  inconceivable  that  in  a  house  like  this 
such  a  blunder  should  be  allowed.  What  do  you  think  of 
such  impertinence?  "  he  bitterly  added,  when  the  waiter  had 
gone. 

"  Pshaw  !  it's  only  a  schoolboy's  move  to  show  that  he  has 
money  in  his  pocket ;  it  is  something  new  to  him." 

"No,  no,  that's  not  it  at  all,"  said  Cerizet;  "it  was  his 
way  of  emphasizing  the  rupture.  *  I  will  not  even  owe  a 
dinner  to  you  '  is  what  he  says." 

Dutocq  was  the  guide  to  a  low  caf6  in  the  Passage  du 
Saumon,  where  Cdrizet  soon  recovered  his  good  humor;  like 
a  fish  who  had  been  out  of  water  returned  to  his  native  ele- 
ment, so  Cerizet  had  become  so  degraded  that  he  felt  ill  at 
ease  in  good  society  resorts.  In  this  vulgar  place  a  game  of 
pool  was  being  played.  Now  Cerizet  enjoyed  the  reputation 
of  being  a  skillful  player  in  the  establishment,  and  he  was  en- 
treated to  take  a  cue.  In  the  parlance  of  the  place  he 
"  bought  a  ball ;"  that  is,  one  of  the  players  sold  him  his  turn 
and  score. 

Soon  after,  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  a  pipe  between  his  teeth,  he 
made  a  masterly  stroke  which  evoked  tumults  of  applause. 
He  looked  triumphantly  around,  graciously  receiving  the  ad- 
miration of  the  gods,  when  his  eyes  alighted  on  a  terrible  kill- 
joy. Standing  amongst  the  spectators,  looking  over  his  hand 
resting  on  his  cane,  du  Portail  was  watching  him.  Cerizet 
reddened,  lost  his  presence  of  mind,  made  a  few  bad  strokes, 
and  was  soon  out  of  the  game.  As  he  was  gloomily  donning 
his  coat  du  Portail  brushed  by  him  : 


222  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Rue  Montmartre,  at  the  end  of  the  court,"  said  he  in  a 
low  voice. 

When  they  met  Cerizet  was  so  dumb  as  to  try  and  explain 
why  he  was  found  in  such  disreputable  company. 

"But,"  said  du  Portail,  "  to  see  you  there  I  had  also  to  be 
there  myself." 

"That  is  true,"  replied  the  usurer;  "I  was  astonished  to 
find  a  quiet  inhabitant  of  the  St.  Sulpice  quarter  there." 

"That  proves  to  you,"  retorted  the  other,  in  a  tone  which 
effectually  cut  off  curious  questioning,  "  that  I  am  in  the 
habit  of  going  everywhere,  and  my  lucky  star  usually  leads 
me  to  those  whom  I  wish  to  meet.  Well,  what  have  you 
done?" 

Cerizet  explained  all  that  had  occurred,  and  that  there  was 
no  chance  of  Dutocq's  acceptances  being  secured. 

"Then  does  he  regard  his  marriage  with  the  demoiselle 
Colleville  as  a  settled  thing?" 

"  Not  only  that,  but  he  pretended  that  it  is  a  love-match. 
He  tried  to  persuade  me  of  that  by  a  long,  tiresome  tirade." 

"Well,  now  cease  your  charge;  you  have  failed  in  this, 
but  I  have  other  uses  for  you." 

As  he  spoke  he  hailed  a  passing  hack,  nodded  to  Cerizet, 
got  in  and  told  the  man  to  drive  to  the  Rue  Honor6-Chevalier. 

As  he  walked  down  the  Rue  Montmartre,  to  regain  the 
Estrapade  quarter,  Cerizet  puzzled  his  brain  in  guessing  what 
that  little  old  man,  with  curt  speech,  imperious  manners,  and 
a  tone  that  seemed  to  cast  a  spell  as  strong  as  a  grappling- 
iron  over  a  person,  could  be;  why,  too,  should  a  man  like 
him  come  such  a  distance  to  spend  his  evening,  especially  in 
such  a  place  where  he  must  assuredly  be  out  of  his  element  ? 
He  had  just  reached  the  Market  when  he  was  rudely  aroused 
from  his  meditation  by  a  rough  shake  and  a  punch  in  his 
back.  He  turned  hastily  around,  and  found  himself  face  to 
face  with  Mme.  Cardinal.  For  the  past  two  days  she  had 
been  taking  "drops  of  consolation"  over  her  defeat  in  the 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  223 

numerous  liquor-dealers'  taverns  of  the  quarter.     With  thick- 
ened speech  and  face  aflame  : 

"  Well,  papa,"  said  she  to  Cerizet,  *'  how  did  you  come  on 
with  the  little  old  man  ?  " 

"I  gave  him  my  word,"  replied  the  usurer,  "that  so  far  as 
I  was  concerned  it  was  all  a  mistake.  You,  my  poor  Madame 
Cardinal,  behaved  in  this  affair  with  much  heedlessness ;  why 
should  you  ask  me  to  assist  you  in  getting  your  uncle's  in- 
heritance when  it  has  for  a  long  time  been  manifest  that  he 
had  a  natural  daughter  to  whom  he  had  left  all.  That  little 
old  man  is  her  guardian." 

"  Ah  !  talk  to  me  of  guardian,"  said  la  Cardinal,  "  a  nobby 
guardian.  To  talk  as  he  did  to  a  woman  of  my  age,  only  be- 
cause she  wanted  to  find  out  if  her  uncle  had  anything  to 
leave.  And  then  to  talk  to  me,  me  !  of  the  police  !  It's 
horrible,  it's  degustating  T^ 

"  Come  !  "  said  Cerizet,  "  you  got  off"  very  well.  Mammy 
Cardinal." 

"Well,  and  you,  you  who  broke  the  locks  and  said  you 
would  accept  the  diamonds  under  pretense  of  marrying  my 
daughter.  As  if  she  wanted  you,  my  daughter,  my  legitimate 
daughter,  like  she  is.  'Never,  my  mother,'  said  she  to  me; 
*I  will  never  give  my  heart  to  a  man  with  half  a  nose,  like 
his.'  " 

**  So  you've  found  her,  then  ?  " 

"  Only  last  evening ;  she  has  left  her  drunken  actor,  and  is 
now,  I  flatter  myself,  in  a  splendid  position  ;  she  can  eat 
money,  has  a  coach  hired  by  the  month,  and  is  much  esteemed 
by  a  barrister  who  would  marry  her  off"  the  reel,  but  he  has  to 
wait  for  the  death  of  his  parents ;  for  his  father  happens  to  be 
mayor,  and  the  government  would  be  against  it." 

"My  worthy  woman,"  said  C6rizet,  "what  the  devil  are 
you    gabbling   about  ?     *  It   happens  that   his   father   is   his 

mother* '" 

*  Parce  que  U  pire  se  trouve  itre  maire  :  mire — mother ;  maire — mayor. 


224  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"What  stuff!  Mayor  of  his  arrondissement,  the  eleventh, 
Monsieur  Minard,  a  retired  cocoa-dealer,  enormously  rich." 

"  Oh  !  very  good,  I  know  him.  And  you  say  that  Olympe 
is  living  with  his  son  ?  " 

"Well,  that  is  to  say,  not  living  together,  for  that  makes 
talk,  that  he  visits  her  with  a  good  motive  ;  he  lives  at  home 
with  his  father,  but  he  has  bought  their  furniture  and  him  and 
my  daughter  has  took  a  lodgings,  where  it  and  my  daughter 
is  housed,  on  the  Chaussde-d'Antin :  stylish  quarter,  ain't 
it?" 

"It  seems  nicely  arranged,"  said  C6rizet. 

"Yes;  and  there's  something  I  want  to  consult  you 
about." 

"What  is  it?" 

"It's  this:  my  daughter's  in  luck,  I  ought  not  to  go  on 
crying  fish  up  and  down  the  streets;  and  then  I  find  myself 
disinherited  by  my  uncle ;  it  seems  to  me,  therefore,  that  I've 
a  right  to  a  elementary  allowance." 

"You  dream,  my  poor  woman.  Your  daughter  is  a  minor  ; 
it's  you  should  be  feeding  her ;  she  ought  not  to  provide  the 
alimentaries." 

"Then,"  said  Mme.  Cardinal,  vexed  and  disagreeable, 
"  that  means  that  us  who  have  nothing  must  give  to  those  who 
have  plenty.  That's  a  proper  sort  of  a  law ;  it's  as  bad  as  your 
guardians  who  prate  about  sending  for  the  police.  Well,  yes, 
I'd  like  to  see  'em  send  the  police  !  Let  them  guillotine  me  ! 
It  won't  stop  me  saying  that  the  rich  are  all  swindlers ;  it's 
about  time  the  people  made  another  revolution  for  their  right- 
ful rights,  my  boy.  You,  my  daughter,  the  barrister  Minard, 
and  that  little  old  guardian,  see  you,  you  would  all  be  done 
away  with." 

Seeing  that  his  ex-mother-in-law  had  worked  herself  up  to  a 
becoming  degree  of  exaltation  that  was  far  from  assuring, 
Cerizet  abruptly  left  her,  but  even  then  she  sent  her  epithets 
after  him  for  a  hundred  feet  or  more ;  but  he  promised  him- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  225 

self  the  pleasure  of  getting  even  with  her  the  next  time  she 
came  to  the  bank  in  the  Rue  des  Poules  to  ask  for  an  "  easy 
let  down." 

As  he  neared  his  house,  Cerizet,  who  was  anything  but 
brave,  felt  an  emotion  of  fear ;  he  noticed  a  figure  ambushed 
by  his  door ;  as  he  approached  nearer  it  detatched  itself  to 
come  and  meet  him  ;  happily  it  was  none  other  than  Dutocq. 
He  had  come  for  his  acceptances.  Cerizet  returned  them, 
with  some  ill-humor ;  he  complained  of  the  distrust  implied 
by  a  visit  for  such  a  purpose  at  that  hour.  Dutocq  paid  no 
attention  to  his  touchy  susceptibilities,  but  the  next  morning 
presented  them  to  la  Peyrade,  who  paid  him  as  he  had  prom- 
ised. Dutocq  made  a  few  sentimental  remarks  when  he  had 
gotten  the  cash,  but  he  was  answered  by  a  marked  coolness. 

As  he  conducted  his  creditor  to  the  door  he  found  himself 
face  to  face  with  a  woman  dressed  as  a  servant,  who  was  just 
about  to  ring  the  bell.  She  seemed  to  be  known  to  Dutocq, 
for  he  said : 

"Ah  !  little  mother;  so  you  feel  the  necessity  of  consulting 
a  barrister  ?  You  are  right ;  at  the  family  council  some  serious 
charges  were  brought  against  you." 

"  Thank  God  !  I  have  no  fear  of  any  one  ;  I  can  walk  with 
my  head  erect,"  answered  the  woman. 

"  Well,  be  careful,  my  dear  lady,  for  I  tell  you  that  when 
you  get  before  the  judge  who  is  to  inquire  into  the  matter, 
you'll  be  finely  pulled  to  pieces.  The  relatives  are  furious 
against  you;  they  can't  get  the  idea  out  of  their  heads  that 
you  have  become  very  rich." 

Here  Theodose  requested  his  client  to  enter. 

This  is  what  had  taken  place  the  day  before. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  la  Peyrade  was  in  the  habit  of 

attending  the  first  mass  in  his  parish  church.     For  some  time 

he  had  found  himself  the  object  of  particular  attention  on  the 

part  of  the  woman  who  had  just  entered  his  house,  and  who, 

15 


226  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

as  the  saying  goes,  like  Dorine  in  "  Tartuffe,"  had  taken  care 
to  attend  regularly  at  •'  his  exact  hour  ;  "  these  singular  pro- 
ceedings had  embarrassed  him  considerably. 

An  affair  of  the  heart  ?  This  explanation  scarcely  com- 
ported with  the  saintly  maturity  of  a  person  who,  wearing 
the  plain  cap,  known  in  the  quarter  as  a.  jansenisie,  the  nui  - 
like  covering  for  the  hair  that  distinguished  the  female  vota- 
ries of  that  sect.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  of  the  dinner, 
la  Peyrade  went  to  the  woman  and  asked  if  there  was  any- 
thing he  could  do  for  her, 

"  Monsieur,"  she  replied  in  a  mystical  voice,  "  is  I  believe 
the  celebrated  Monsieur  de  la  Peyrade,  the  advocate  of  the 
poor?" 

"  I  am  la  Peyrade ;  and  I  have  at  \imes  been  able  to  be  of 
.service  to  the  j)Oor  of  this  quarter." 

"  If  you  would  listen  to  and  grant  me  a  consultation,  mon- 
sieur." 

"This  is  not  a  fitting  place,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "for  a 
conference.  I  live  near  here,  Rue  Saint-Dominique  d'Enfer ; 
if  you  will  take  the  trouble  to  come  to  my  office — " 

"  It  will  not  trouble  monsieur  ?  " 

"  Not  the  least  in  the  world  ;  my  business  is  to  attend  my 
clients." 

"At  what  hour,  for  I  would  not  disturb  monsieur?" 

"  Whenever  you  please  ;  I  shall  be  home  all  the  morning  ?  " 

"Then  I  will  hear  another  mass  and  take  the  communion  ; 
I  am  too  agitated  just  now.  I  will  be  at  monsieur's  house  at 
eight  o'clock,  if  that  hour  won't  be  inconvenient." 

At  the  hour  named,  not  one  minute  before  or  past,  the 
pious  woman  rang  the  bell,  but  the  barrister  had  some  diffi- 
culty in  getting  her  to  be  seated  and  to  state  her  case.  Then 
that  delaying  little  cough,  so  often  used  in  like  cases,  seized 
her ;  but  at  last  she  touched  the  object  of  her  visit. 

"This  is  it,"  said  she,  "whether  monsieur  would  be  so 
kin4  as  to  let  me  know  if  it  was  true  that  a  very  charitable 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  227 

man  had  given  a  fund  as  a  reward  to  servants  who  have  faith- 
fully served  their  masters?" 

"  There  is  this  to  say,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  **  that  Monsieur 
de  Montyon  founded  a  prize  of  virtue  which,  in  fact,  has 
often  been  awarded  to  zealous  and  exemplary  servants ;  but 
good  conduct  only  is  not  enough,  there  must  be  some  act  of 
high  devotion  and  a  truly  Christian  abnegation." 

"Religion,"  replied  the  pious  woman,  "  enjoins  humility, 
and  so  I  cannot  praise  myself;  but  for  twenty  years  I  have 
been  in  the  service  of  an  old  man,  dull  in  the  extreme,  a 
savant,  who  has  eaten  up  all  his  substance  by  inventing 
things,  and  whom  I  have  been  obliged  to  feed  and  clothe  ;  so 
some  people  think  I  am  not  unworthy  of  obtaining  the 
prize." 

"  That  is,  in  fact,  the  conditions  under  which  the  Academy 
chooses  its  candidates,"  replied  la  Peyrade.  "  What  is  your 
master's  name  ?  " 

"  Father  Picot ;  they  all  call  him  that  in  our  quarter.  He 
takes  no  care  for  his  dignity ;  he  is  occupied  with  his  own 
ideas ;  I  wear  myself  out  getting  him  tasty  food,  but  if  one 
asks  him  what  he  had  for  dinner  he  cannot  remember." 

**  Is  your  master  a  mathematician  ?  " 

"Yes,  monsieur  ;  they  have  been  his  bane." 

"  Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  let  me  have  the  testimony  prov- 
ing your  devotion  to  this  old  man,  and  I  will  prepare  a  peti- 
tion to  the  Academy  and  have  it  presented." 

"  Monsieur  is  very  good,"  said  the  pious  woman;  "if  he 
would  allow  me  to  speak  of  a  little  difficulty " 

"What  is  that?" 

"  They  tell  me,  monsieur,  that  the  prize  can  only  be  won 
by  a  very  poor  person," 

"  Not  exactly  so ;  still,  the  Academy  does  in  effect  try  to 
choose  people  in  straitened  circumstances  and  who  have  made 
sacrifices  beyond  their  means." 

"  §aQn|ices }     J  flatter  myself  that  I  have  made  them  j  all 


228  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

my  little  heritage  from  my  parents  has  gone  in  keeping  him, 
and,  beside,  for  fifteen  years  I  have  not  had  a  sou  of  wages, 
which,  at  three  hundred  francs  a  year  and  compound  interest, 
would  make  a  right  pretty  sum,  as  monsieur  will  allow." 

At  the  words  compound  interest,  which  was  evidence  of  a 
certain  degree  of  cultured  financial  experience,  la  Peyrade 
looked  upon  this  Antigone  with  attention. 

"In  short,"  said  he,  "  this  difficulty  of  yours " 

"Monsieur,"  the  pious  one  replied,  "will  not  deem  it 
strange  that  a  very  rich  uncle  of  mine  has  died  in  England 
and  left  me  twenty-five  thousand  francs ;  one,  too,  that  had 
done  nothing  for  his  family  before?  " 

"Assuredly  there  is  nothing  in  that  but  what  is  right  and 
properly  legal,"  said  the  barrister. 

"But,  monsieur,  having  this  might  lose  me  the  prize  3  be- 
side, it  is  in  the  greatest  danger  from  my  master." 

"How  is  that?"  asked  la  Peyrade,  curiously. 

"  Eh  !  monsieur,  if  he  only  got  wind  of  that  money,  it 
would  go  at  one  mouthful ;  his  invention  of  perpetual  motion 
and  the  like  have  already  ruined  both  him  and  me." 

"Then  you  would  have  the  knowledge  withheld  from  the 
Academy  and  master,  both?" 

"  How  clever  monsieur  is;  he  fully  understands  at  once," 
said  the  religious  woman,  smiling. 

"And  what  do  you  want  to  do  with  the  money?"  asked 
the  barrister.     "You  want  to  get  it  out  of  your  hands?" 

"For  fear  that  the  master  might  swoop  down  upon  it, 
certainly.  How  well  monsieur  understands ;  now,  if  it  was 
at  interest,  I  could  get  him  a  few  delicacies  now  and  again ; 
that's  why  I  should  like  it  to  bear  interest." 

"And  as  high  as  possible,  eh  ?  "  said  the  barrister. 

^'Dame,  yes,  five  or  six  per  cent." 

"Then  it  was  about  both  these  things  that  you  wished  to 
consult  me?  " 

"  Monsieur  is  so  kind,  so  charitable,  so  encouragmg." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  229 

"After  a  few  inquiries  the  petition  can  easily  be  drawn  ;  but 
to  invest  with  security  and  secrecy,  both,  is  rather  more  diffi- 
cult." 

"Ah  !  if  I  only  dared,"  said  she, 

"What?"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"  Monsieur  understands  me." 

"  Me  ?  not  the  least  idea  in  the  world." 

"  I  have  prayed  well  this  hour  past  that  monsieur  might 
take  charge  of  this  money ;  I  should  be  sure  of  its  safety  and 
of  nothing  being  said  about  it." 

La  Peyrade  received  at  this  moment  the  fruit  of  his  farce  of 
devotion  to  the  necessitous  class.  The  chorus  of  porters  in 
the  quarter  had  carried  his  praises  to  this  domestic.  He 
thought  of  Dutocq,  and  firmly  believed  that  this  woman  had 
been  wafted  to  him  by  Providence.  He  resolved  to  play  a 
deep  game. 

"My  dear  lady,"  said  he  to  his  pious  client,  "  I  am  in  no 
need  of  money  ]  and  I  am  not  rich  enough  to  pay  you  interest 
on  twenty-five  thousand  francs  without  investing  it.  All  I 
could  do  would  be  to  put  it  in  the  hands  of  the  notary  Dupuis 
in  my  name,  a  pious  man  whom  you  may  see  every  Sunday  on 
the  wardens'  bench  in  our  parish  church.  Notaries,  you 
know,  give  no  receipt,  therefore  I  cannot  give  you  one.  I 
can  but  leave  a  note  among  my  papers,  which  will  be  found 
at  my  death,  showing  the  transaction.  You  see,  it  is  a  confi- 
dential business  ;  it  is  only  done  to  oblige  a  pious  and  devoted 
person  who  possesses  charitable  sentiments." 

"If  monsieur  can  find  no  other  way " 

"  That  is  the  only  one  that  seems  possible,"  said  la  Peyrade. 
"  However,  I  don't  know  but  what  I  can  get  you  six  per  cent., 
and  I  will  see  that  it  is  paid  promptly.  But  on  the  least  in- 
discretion on  your  part  the  money  will  be  at  once  returned  to 
you." 

"  Oh  !  monsieur,  think  you  that  I  am  a  woman  who  would 
talk  about  what  she  should  keep  silent  ?  " 


230  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"My  blessing!  my  dear  lady,  we  must  provide  against 
everything  in  such  a  business.  Take  time  to  think  it  over. 
Come  again  in  a  day  or  two,  I  may  evolve  another  plan ;  I 
confess  this  does  not  please  me  over-well ;  I  may  think  of 
other  difficulties  that  have  escaped  my  notice." 

This  adroit  menace  thrown  in  clinched  the  business. 

"  I  have  reflected,"  said  piety  ;  "  with  a  man  so  religious  as 
yourself,  monsieur,  I  cannot  see  any  risk." 

And,  taking  from  under  her  chemisette  a  little  pocket-book, 
she  drew  out  twenty-five  bank-bills.  Her  manner  of  counting 
them,  the  dexterity  she  showed,  was  to  la  Peyrade  a  revelation. 
The  woman  was  well  accustomed  to  handling  cash,  and  a 
singular  idea  struck  him  : 

"Suppose  that  I  am  receiving  stolen No,"  said  he; 

"  in  order  to  draw  up  your  petition  I  must  make  a  few  in- 
quiries, so  in  the  ordinary  course  of  things  I  will  wait  on  you 
presently.     At  what  hour  are  you  alone?  " 

"  On  the  stroke  of  four,  monsieur  goes  for  a  promenade  to 
the  Luxembourg.  * ' 

"And  where  do  you  live?  " 

"No.  9  Rue  du  Val-du-Grace." 

"Well,  then,  four  o'clock;  if,  as  I  believe  is  likely,  I  find 
all  is  right,  then  I  can  take  your  money." 

"Oh  !  monsieur  is  prudent,"  said  she,  thinking  the  matter 
settled.  "This  money,  thank  God,  I  have  not  stolen,  and 
monsieur  can  so  inform  himself  about  me  in  the  quarter." 

"That  is  just  what  I  shall  be  compelled  to  do,"  said  la 
Peyrade,  who  did  not  quite  like,  under  the  exterior  of  sim- 
plicity, that  lively  intelligence  which  penetrated  his  every 
thought. 

"As  monsieur  pleases,"  said  the  pious  one;  "  you  are  doing 
me  too  great  a  service  to  complain  of  your  precautions." 

And,  after  an  unctuous  salutation,  she  went  out,  carrying 
her  money  with  her, 

"The  devil!"  thought  la   Peyrade,   "that  woman  is  as 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  231 

Strong  as  myself;  she  swallows  an  affront  with  a  gratified  air 
and  without  the  shadow  of  a  grimace." 

The  information  he  gathered  in  the  quarter  was  contradic- 
tory; some  gave  his  client  the  name  of  saint,  others  presented 
her  as  a  very  cunning,  artful  woman ;  but,  summing  all  up, 
there  was  nothing  that  inculpated  her  morality  or  such  as 
would  deter  la  Peyrade  from  accepting  the  good  fortune  that 
she  offered  him. 

At  four  o'clock  he  found  her  of  the  same  mind.  The  cash 
in  his  pocket,  he  went  to  the  Rocher  de  Cancale,  and  perhaps 
it  was  the  day's  excitement  that  had  caused  him  to  assume  the 
petulant  manner  he  had  with  his  two  associates.  In  fact,  the 
money  had  rather  turned  his  brain  ;  he  had  rid  himself  of 
Cerizet  without  even  consulting  Brigitte.  Thus  through  the 
whole  day  la  Peyrade  had  not  shown  himself  the  man  so  com- 
pletely infallible  as  we  had  credited  him  with  being.  It  is 
perhaps  more  difficult  to  keep  one's  head  level  in  good  than 
in  evil  fortune. 

The  Farndsse  Hercules,  calm  in  repose,  shows  more  fully 
the  plenitude  of  muscular  force  than  the  other  Hercules  in 
violent  agitation  and  represented  in  the  excitement  of  their 
labors. 


PART  II. 


Between  the  two  parts  of  this  story  an  important  event  had 
taken  place  in  the  life  of  Phellion. 

There  is  no  one  but  has  heard  of  the  Odeon's  ill-luck,  that 
fatal  theatre  which  had  for  years  spelt  the  ruin  of  its  directors. 
Rightly  or  wrongly  the  quarter  in  which  stands  this  dramatic 
impossibility  is  absolutely  convinced  that  its  prosperity  in  a 
high  degree  depends  upon  it ;  more  than  once  the  mayor  and 
notables  of  the  arrondissement  have  tried  every  desperate 
effort  to  galvanize  the  corpse,  with  a  courage  equal  to  their 
honor. 

Now  to  have  a  finger  in  the  pie  theatrical  is  one  of  the 
eternal,  ever-living  ambitions  of  the  middle-class.  Thus  the 
successive  saviours  of  the  Odeon  feel  themselves  amply  re- 
warded when  they  are  given  a  share,  be  it  ever  so  small,  in 
the  administration  of  the  concern.  It  was  at  such  a  combina- 
tion of  circumstances  that  Minard,  in  his  quality  as  mayor  of 
the  eleventh  arrondissement,  had  been  called  to  preside  over 
the  committee  on  reading  plays,  with  power  to  select  as  assess- 
ors a  certain  number  of  notables  of  the  Latin  quarter — the 
choice  being  left  to  him. 

Now  as  both  the  Minards  and  Phellions  had  seen  the 
advance  made  by  la  Peyrade  in  the  securing  of  Celeste's  dot, 
they  each  felt  a  loss  of  that  prejudice  which  had  formerly  ani- 
mated them  ;  there  is  nothing  binds  and  soothes  men  so  much 
as  a  feeling  of  checkmate  felt  in  common.  Thus  when  the 
mayor  had  to  bring  to  head  the  question  of  the  composition 
of  his  dramatic  customs-house,  he  gave  immediate  thought  to 
Phellion. 

One  can  well  understand  that  so  high  and  sacred  a  mission 
(282) 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  233 

was  not  lightly  undertaken  by  a  man  of  Phellion's  solemnity  ; 
to  himself  he  said  that  he  was  called  upon  to  exercise  magis- 
tracy, priesthood. 

"To  judge  men,"  he  had  replied  to  Minard,  who  was 
astonished  at  his  hesitation,  "is  an  alarming  task;  but  to 
judge  of  intellects — who  can  believe  himself  equal  to  such  a 
mission  ?" 

Phellion,  to  use  his  own  term,  had  become  a  member  of  the 
Areopagus  presided  over  by  Minard,  and  he  had  just  come 
home  from  the  exercise  of  his  functions  both  "delicate  and 
interesting,"  quoting  himself  again,  when  the  conversation  we 
are  about  to  repeat  took  place. 

The  session  of  the  committee  had  been  particularly  stormy. 
On  discussing  a  tragedy,  having  for  title  "  The  Death  of 
Hercules,"  those  classically  imbued  and  the  others  tinctured 
with  romance,  carefully  balanced  by  the  mayor  in  forming  the 
.committee,  had  nearly  come  to  the  hair-pulling  stage.  Twice 
had  Phellion  asked  to  put  in  a  word,  and  every  one  was  as- 
tounded at  the  flood  of  metaphors  with  which  the  speech  of  a 
major  of  the  National  Guard  could  flow  when  his  literary  con- 
victions were  assailed.  The  result  of  the  vote  was  a  victory 
for  the  opinions  of  which  Phellion  was  the  eloquent  mouth- 
piece. 

As  they  descended  the  stairs  together  Phellion  remarked  to 
Minard  :  "  *  The  Death  of  Hercules '  reminded  me  of  Luce 
de  Lancival's  '  Death  of  Hector; '  it  is  full  of  sublimity." 

"Yes,"  said  Minard,  "it  is  in  good  taste.  It  is  far  better 
literature  than  Colleville's  anagrams." 

"Oh!"  said  Phellion,  "they  are  mere  witticisms;  they 
have  nothing  in  common  with  the  severe  accents  of  Mel- 
pomene." 

"And  yet,"  replied  Minard,  "I  can  affirm  that  he  attaches 
much  importance  to  that  stuff".  But  it  seems  to  me  that  not 
only  Colleville,  but  his  wife,  daughter,  the  Thuilliers,  and  the 
rest  of  the  whole  coterie  have  assumed  airs  of  importance, 


2S4  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

hardly  justified  by  their  having  moved  into  the  Madeleine 
quarter." 

"  What  would  you  ?  "  said  Phellion  ;  "  it  requires  a  strong 
head  to  stand  the  fumes  of  opulence.  Our  friends  have  grown 
very  rich  by  the  purchase  of  that  house ;  we  must  excuse  a 
little  intoxication ;  yesterday  they  gave  us  a  good  house- 
warming  dinner,  well  spread  and  succulent." 

"I  also,"  said  Minard,  "have,  I  flatter  myself,  given  a  few 
remarkable  dinners  at  which  men  high  in  the  government 
have  not  disdained  to  attend,  but  I  am  not  unduly  puffed 
up." 

"You,  Monsieur  le  Maire,  you  have  for  a  long  time  enjoyed 
a  handsome  mode  of  life  in  your  high  commercial  capacity ; 
our  friends  have  but  just  made  their  fortunes ;  they  have  hardly 
got  their  sea-legs  yet." 

"Are  you  going  through  the  Luxembourg  ?  "  asked  Minard. 

"  I  shall  go  that  way,  but  not  to  stay.  I  have  to  meet 
Madame  Phellion  at  the  end  of  the  broad  walk ;  she  will 
await  me  there  with  the  Barniol  children." 

"Well,"  said  Minard,  "  I  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  salut- 
ing Madame  Phellion," 

Minard  quite  realized  that  Phellion  had  not  voluntarily  fol- 
lowed him  in  his  caustic  remarks  on  the  Thuilliers,  so  he  did 
not  offer  to  renew  the  subject,  but  he  felt  sure  that  Mme. 
Phellion  would  reecho  his  animadversions. 

"Well,  fair  lady,"  said  he,  "and  what  did  you  think  of 
the  dinner  yesterday?" 

"It  was  well  put  up,"  replied  Mme.  Phellion,  "and  the 
potage  a  la  bisque^  I  could  tell,  showed  the  hand  of  a  master, 
like  Chevet,  who  must  have  replaced  their  own  cook.  But 
there  seemed  a  lack  of  gayety ;  there  was  none  of  the  cordial- 
ity that  marks  our  little  reunions  in  the  Latin  quarter.  Be- 
side, one  could  hardly  fail  to  see  that  Madame  and  Mile. 
Thuillier  did  not  seem  at  home.  I  felt  like  I  was  dining  with 
*  A  rich  soup. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  235 

Madame what's  her  name?     I  cannot  keep  myself  in 

mind  of  it." 

"Torna,  Comtesse  de  GodoUo,"  said  Phellion,  interrupt- 
ing.    "Still  the  name  is  most  euphonistic. " 

"  Euphonistic  as  you  wish,  my  friend;  but  for  me,  I  can't 
think  it's  a  name  at  all." 

"  It  is  a  Magyar,  or,  vulgarly  speaking,  a  Hungarian  name. 
Our  name,  for  instance,  may  be  said  to  be  borrowed  from  the 
Greek." 

"  That  is  possible,  but  we  have  the  advantage  of  being  well- 
known,  not  only  in  our  own  quarter,  but  in  the  whole  world 
of  education,  where  our  parvenus  have  conquered  an  honor- 
able position  ;  not  like  that  Hungarian  countess  who  makes 
rain  and  sunshine  in  the  Thuilliers'  house.  Whence  came  she? 
How  comes  it  that  having  all  the  manners  of  a  great  lady, 
with  such  a  distinguished  air,  she  should  fall  into  the  arms  of 
Brigitte,  who,  between  us,  tastes  of  the  sod,  and  is  so  the  por- 
ter's daughter  as  to  nauseate  one  ?  " 

"Dear  me,"  said  Minard,  "don't  you  know  how  the  inti- 
macy began  between  the  Comtesse  de  GodoUo  and  the 
ThuiLiers?" 

"That  she  is  a  tenant  of  theirs,  she  occupies  the  entresol." 

"  True,  but  there's  more  than  that  in  it.  Zelie,  my  wife, 
had  it  from  Josephine,  who  was  quitting  their  service  for  ours, 
but  did  not,  as  our  own  Frangoise,  change  her  mind  about 
getting  married.  You  must  know,  fair  lady,  that  it  was 
Madame  de  Godollo  who  caused  the  migration  of  the  Thu- 
illiers;  she  was,  one  might  say,  their  upholsterer." 

"How,  their  upholsterer!"  cried  Phellion,  "that  stylish 
woman  of  whom  one  might  truly  say  :  Tncessa  patuit  dea, 
which,  in  French,  is  so  imperfectly  expressed  by  saying  :  '  the 
bearing  of  a  queen.'  " 

"  Permit  me,"  said  Minard ;  "  I  don't  mean  she  was  actu- 
ally theii  upholsterer,  but  when  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  de- 
cided by  la  Peyrade's  advice  to  manage  the  house  herself, 


236  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

he  could  not  persuade  her  to  move  into  that  sumptuous  apart- 
ment where  they  received  us  yesterday." 

"Five-franc  pieces  form  her  jingling  music;  so  when  la 
Peyrade  and  Thuillier  urged  her  removal  she  only  thought  of 
the  cost  it  would  entail." 

**  There  you  have  the  universal  link,"  exclaimed  Phellion ; 
"  you  see,  from  the  summit  of  society,  luxury  sooner  or  later 
infiltrates  itself  through  the  lower  classes  and  involves  em- 
pires in  ruin." 

"  That  is  a  knotty  point  in  political  economy,"  said 
Minard.  "  But  to  go  on  :  Madame  de  Godollo  told  her  that 
a  friend  of  hers,  a  Russian  princess,  had  a  fine  suite  of  furni- 
ture, most  of  it  entirely  new.  She  had  been  recalled  to  Russia 
by  the  Czar,  a  gentleman  whom  it  is  no  joke  to  cross ;  so 
the  poor  woman  had  no  recourse  but  to  sell  at  the  best 
obtainable  price.  This  idea  of  doing  a  good  stroke  of  busi- 
ness and  a  chance  of  refurnishing  decided  the  matter.  In 
that  old  maid,  you  see,  there  is  always  more  or  less  of  Madame 
la  Ressource,  in  *  The  Miser.'  " 

"I  think.  Monsieur  the  Mayor,  that  you  are  in  error,"  said 
Phellion  ;  "la  Ressource  is  a  character  in  'Turcaret,'  a  very 
immoral  play  by  the  late  Le  Sage." 

"  Well,  be  that  as  it  may,  this  caused  the  foreign  countess 
to  get  on  a  good  footing  with  Brigitte.  You  may  have  ob- 
served also  the  signs  of  a  coming  struggle  between  the  two 
influences,  the  personal  and  the  real  estate?" 

"  Wh)',  yes,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  with  a  beaming  expres- 
sion, evincing  her  interest.  "  It  did  appear  that  the  grand 
lady  allowed  herself  to  contradict  the  barrister,  and  with  an 
amount  of  asperity,  too." 

"Well,  his  interest  is  waning  in  the  house,"  said  Minard. 
"  He  cannot  get  a  freehold  every  day  for  his  *  good  friend,'  as 
he  calls  him,  for  a  crumb  of  bread." 

**How  did  they  get  it  so  cheap?"  asked  Mme.  Phellion. 

♦*  Oh  !  by  a  dirty  intrigue.     Desroches,  the  attorney,  told 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  237 

me  all  about  it.  Now  our  Thuillier  finds  a  tit-bit  in  the 
Chamber.  Eating  gives  appetite,  but  he  cannot  dupe  us 
this  time  like  he  did  before.  That  is  why  they  turn  to 
the  Comtesse  de  GodoUo,  whom  it  seems  has  high  connec- 
tions in  political  circles.  There  is  this  further :  Instead  of 
being  a  parasite,  like  the  Provencal,  this  foreigner  has  a 
fortune  of  her  own  which  she  uses  beneficently.  She  it 
was  who  gave  the  two  dresses  of  Brigitte's  and  Madame 
Thuillier's ;  she  came  herself  to  arrange  the  toilettes  of  our 
amphitryonesses,  which  accounts  for  them  not  being  found  in 
their  usual  dowdy  fashion." 

"I  do  not  accept  for  my  friends,"  said  Phellion,  "the 
derogatory  remarks  you  make  about  them.  There  may  be  a 
lack  of  experience,  and  the  noble  lady  may  have  given  of  her 
knowledge  to  them  ;  but " 

**  Well,  but,  my  dear  commander,  what  about  the  idea  of 
giving  Celeste  to  la  Peyrade ;  is  not  that  something  beyond  a 
mere  want  of  experience  ?  It  is  at  the  same  time  stupidity 
and  immorality;  for,  really,  the  scandalous  fliitation  of  that 
barrister  with  Madame  Colleville " 

"Monsieur  le  Maire,"  interrupted  Phellion,  with  redoubled 
solemnity,  "  the  law-giver,  Solon,  decreed  no  punishment  for 
parricide,  declaring  it  an  impossible  crime.  I  think  the  same 
may  be  said  of  the  gross  misconduct  to  which  you  allude. 
That  Madame  Colleville  granting  favors  to  Monsieur  la  Pey- 
rade and  the  while  intending  to  give  him  her  daughter  is — 
no,  monsieur,  no  !  it  is  beyond  imagination.  Questioned  on 
this  subject  before  the  Tribunal,  Madame  Colleville,  like 
Marie-Antoinette,  might  respond  :  *  I  appeal  to  all  mothers.'  " 

"Nevertheless,  my  friend,  allow  me  to  remind  you  that 
Madame  Colleville  is  abominably  profligate  and  has  given 
very  sure  proof  of  it." 

" That's  enough,  my  dear,"  said  Phellion.  "The  dinner 
hour  calls  us  ;  I  fancy  we  have  allowed  our  conversation  to 
drift  toward  the  miry  banks  of  slander." 


238  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

And  each  party,  after  mutual  salutations,  went  their  way. 

It  was  impossible  that  la  Peyrade  should  not  be  aware  that 
a  change  was  taking  place  in  the  Thuillier  household.  His 
influence  was  fast  waning  before  that  of  the  stranger;  but  the 
countess  did  not  limit  herself  to  a  simple  struggle  for  influence; 
she  made  no  pretense  of  being  otherwise  than  utterly  opposed 
to  his  suit  for  Celeste's  hand  ;  more,  she  gave  her  approval  to 
the  love  of  Felix  Phellion. 

La  Peyrade  was  perhaps  more  distressed  at  this  because  he 
had  brought  this  undermining  force  into  the  heart  of  the 
citadel. 

His  first  mistake  was  the  sterile  satisfaction  of  refusing  the 
lease  to  Cerizet.  If  it  had  not  been  that  Brigitte  had  taken 
the  matter  into  her  own  hands,  by  his  advice,  it  was  unlikely 
that  she  would  have  become  known  to  Madame  de  Godollo. 

Another  blunder  was  in  persuading  the  Thuilliers  to  leave 
the  Latin  quarter.  Just  then  Theodose  looked  upon  his  mar- 
riage as  a  settled  thing ;  he  therefore  supported  the  views  of 
the  Hungarian  in  the  sale  of  the  furniture  and  in  having  her 
installed  as  a  tenant ;  he  felt  that  he  thus  sent  the  Thuilliers 
before  him  to  make  ready  his  bed  in  the  splendid  suite  he  in- 
tended sharing  with  them. 

The  Collevilles  had  followed  their  friends  into  the  house  in 
the  Madeleine,  where  the  rear  entresol  had  been  conceded  to 
them  at  a  price  conformable  to  their  means.  But  Colleville 
found  that  it  lacked  light  and  air,  and,  obliged  to  go  daily  from 
the  Madeleine  boulevard  to  the  St.  Jacques'  faubourg,  where  his 
office  was  situated,  he  railed  against  the  arrangement  of  which 
he  was  the  victim,  and  at  times  rated  la  Peyrade  as  a  tyrant. 
On  the  other  hand,  Mme.  Colleville,  under  the  pretense  of 
being  a  resident  in  such  an  aristocratic  quarter,  had  rushed 
into  a  frightful  orgy  of  new  bonnets,  mantles,  and  dresses, 
which  necessitated  the  presentation  of  a  pile  of  bills  and  caused 
frequent  stormy  scenes  in  the  household. 

But  all  this  was  as  nothing  when  weighed  with  another 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  239 

cause  for  his  diminished  influence.  He  had  promised  Thuil- 
lier  that  the  Cross  should  be  his,  after  a  little  delay  and  the 
expenditure  of  ten  thousand  francs.  Two  months  had  elapsed 
since  then,  and  yet  no  sign  was  there  of  that  glorious  bauble. 
To  be  sure,  la  Peyrade  had  mentioned  an  unforeseen  and 
unaccountable  obstacle  which  had  paralyzed  every  effort  of 
the  Comtesse  du  Bruel ;  but  Thuillier  was  sick  of  being  paid 
in  explanations,  and  on  some  days  when  his  disappointment 
was  particularly  acute,  he  would  often,  like  Chicaneau  in 
*'Les  Plaideurs,"  be  within  an  ace  of  saying:  ''Then  give 
me  back  my  cash  ! ' ' 

La  Peyrade  felt  that  he  had  reached  a  point  at  which  he 
must  strike  a  blow  in  order  to  restore  his  rapidly  evaporating 
influence.  It  was  just  that  nagging,  haggling,  proof-revising 
that  afforded  the  barrister  a  chance  to  use  a  scheme  both  bold 
and  deep. 

One  day,  when  they  were  at  work  on  the  last  pages  of  the 
pamphlet,  a  discussion  arose  over  the  word  "nepotism," 
which  Thuillier  would  have  eliminated  from  one  of  the  sen- 
tences written  by  la  Peyrade,  declaring  that  he  had  never  met 
with  it,  and  that,  properly,  it  was  "neologism,"  which,  in 
the  literary  ideas  of  the  bourgeoisie,  is  about  equivalent  to  the 
notion  of  '93  and  the  Reign  of  Terror. 

Generally,  la  Peyrade  took  the  ridiculous  notions  of  his 
"dear  friend"  in  good  part;  but  this  day  he  became  highly 
excited ;  he  signified  that  Thuillier  might  finish  the  work  him- 
self, as  he  was  able  to  criticise  so  intelligently,  and  for  some 
days  he  w^as  not  seen  again. 

Thuillier  at  first  laid  it  to  a  mere  passing  effect  of  ill-humor, 
but  la  Peyrade's  prolonged  absence  made  him  feel  the  neces- 
sity of  seeking  him  and  making  reconciliation.  He  therefore 
visited  the  Provencal's  room,  and,  with  an  off"-hand  manner, 
said : 

"Well,  my  dear  fellow,  I  find  we  were  both  right ;  nepotism 
means  the  authority  that  the  nephews  of  popes  take  in  affairs 


240  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

political.  I  have  searched  the  dictionary,  and  I  find  no  other 
explanation ;  but,  from  what  Phellion  says,  it  appears  that  in 
the  vocabulary  of  politics  the  word  has  been  extended  to 
cover  the  influence  which  corrupt  ministers  allow  certain  per- 
sons to  illegally  exercise ;  I  think,  therefore,  that  we  can  let 
the  term  stand  \  at  the  same  time,  it  is  not  so  used  by  Napo- 
leon Landais." 

La  Peyrade,  who,  while  receiving  his  visitor,  had  pretended 
to  be  exceedingly  busy  in  arranging  his  papers,  contented 
himself  with  shrugging  his  shoulders,  but  made  no  answer. 

"Well,"  went  on  Thuillier,  "have  you  looked  over  the 
proofs  of  the  last  two  sheets  ?  For  we  ought  to  be  getting 
along." 

"If  you  have  sent  nothing  to  the  printers,"  replied  la  Pey- 
rade, "we  are  not  very  like  to  have  proofs;  for  my  own  part, 
I  have  not  touched  the  manuscript." 

"But,  my  dear  Theodose,"  said  Thuillier,  "it  cannot  be 
possible  that  you  are  vexed  about  such  a  trifle.  I  don't  pre- 
tend to  be  a  writer ;  all  the  same,  as  I  sign  the  thing,  it  seems 
I  might  have  my  opinion  about  a  word." 

"But  Mdsieu  Phellion,"  replied  the  barrister,  "is  a  writer; 
and,  as  you  have  consulted  him,  I  don't  see  why  you  shouldn't 
engage  him  to  finish  the  work ;  as  for  myself,  I  promise  you  I 
won't  cooperate  any  more." 

^^Dieu!  what  a  temper!"  exclaimed  Brigitte's  brother; 
"  here  you  are  mad  as  a  hornet  just  because  I  doubt  an  ex- 
pression and  took  another  opinion.  Shall  I  give  you  an  idea 
of  the  confidence  I  have  in  you?  The  Comtesse  de  Godollo, 
to  whom  last  evening  I  read  a  few  pages,  told  me  that  the 
pamphlet  was  apt  to  cause  me  trouble  with  the  public  prose- 
cutor ;  can  you  for  a  moment  think  anything  like  that  would 
stop  me?" 

"Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  ironically,  "I  think  that  the 
oracle  of  your  house  sees  the  thing  clearly ;  I  have  no  desire 
to  bring  your  head  to  the  scaffold," 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  241 

"That's  all  bosh.  Do  you  or  do  you  not  intend  to  leave 
me  in  the  lurch?" 

"Literary  questions,"  replied  the  barrister,  "  breed  quarrels 
among  the  best  of  friends ;  I  wish  to  put  an  end  to  such  dis- 
cussions between  us." 

"Theodose,"  said  Thuillier,  "  you  have  something  on  your 
mind  that  you  don't  tell  me;  it  is  unnatural  that  for  a  simple 
tiff  about  a  word  you  should  wish  to  lose  a  friend  as  influential 
as  myself." 

"Well,  yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  with  an  air  of  decision,  "I 
don't  like  ingratitude." 

"  Nor  I  any  more  than  you ;  I  don't  like  it,"  said  Thuillier 
with  some  heat,  "  and  if  you  think  of  accusing  me  of  aught  so 
base  and  vile,  I  summon  you  to  explain ;  we  come  out  of  equiv- 
ocations :  Of  what  do  you  complain  ?  What  reproach  can 
you  have  against  one  whom  only  the  other  day  you  called 
your  friend?" 

"Nothing  and  everything,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "your  sister 
and  yourself  are  too  clever  to  openly  make  a  rupture  with  a 
man,  who,  at  the  risk  of  his  reputation,  has  put  a  million  in 
your  hands ;  but,  all  the  same,  I  am  not  so  simple  but  that  I 
can  detect  a  change.  There  are  people  about  who  set  them- 
selves to  undermine  me;  and  Brigitte  has  but  one  thought, 
and  that  is  how  to  find  a  reasonable  pretext  of  not  keeping 
her  promises." 

"Come,  come,"  said  Thuillier,  seeing  a  tear  in  the  bar- 
rister's eye,  by  the  glitter  of  whicH  he  was  completely  duped, 
"I  don't  know  what  Brigitte  may  have  done,  but  one  thing 
is  quite  certain,  that  I  have  never  ceased  to  be  your  most  de- 
voted friend." 

"  Well,  you  always  see  Madame  Godollo  alongside  Brigitte ; 
she  seems  now  that  she  cannot  live  without  her." 

"Oh,  ho!  it  is  perhaps  a  little  jealousy  on  our  mind!" 
said  Thuillier  slyly. 

"Jealousy!"  answered  la  Peyrade.  "I  don't  know 
16 


242  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

whether  that's  the  proper  word ;  but  anyhow  your  sister,  who 
is  not  at  all  above  the  ordinary,  and  whom  I  am  astonished 
that  a  man  of  your  intellectual  superiority  should  allow  to 
assume  a  supremacy  which  she  uses  and  abuses " 

"  How  can  I  help  it,  dear  fellow  ?  "  interrupted  Thuillier, 
sucking  in  the  compliment;  "she  is  so  entirely  devoted  to 
me." 

"  I  acknowledge  the  weakness,"  replied  la  Peyrade ;  "  but, 
I  repeat  it,  your  sister  caniiot  step  in  your  track.  What  I  say 
is  that  when  a  man  of  the  value  which  you  claim  to  recognize 
in  me  does  her  the  honor  of  advising  her,  and  who  devotes 
himself  to  her  as  I  have  done,  it  cannot  be  agreeable  to  see 
himself  supplanted  by  a  woman  come  from  who  knows  where, 
and  all  on  account  of  some  trumpery  curtains  and  a  few  old 
chairs  she  has  helped  her  to  purchase." 

"With  women,  as  you  well  know,  household  affairs  come 
before  all  else,"  replied  Thuillier. 

"  Another  thing  I  can  tell  you,  Brigitte,  who  has  a  finger  in 
everything,  has  an  equal  pretension  to  use  a  high  hand  in  our 
love  affairs ;  you,  being  so  remarkably  clear-sighted,  must  have 
seen  that  to  Brigitte  nothing  is  less  certain  than  my  marriage 
with  Mademoiselle  CoUeville ;  now,  my  love  has  been  solemnly 
authorized  by  you." 

"By  the  rood  !  "  said  Thuillier,  "I  should  like  to  see  any 
one  dare  to  interfere  with  my  arrangements." 

"There  is  some  one  else  though  outside  of  Brigitte,  Celeste 
herself;  in  spite  of  the  bickerings  about  religion,  her  mind  is 
not  the  less  filled  with  that  little  Phellion." 

"But  why  not  have  Flavie  put  a  stop  to  it ? " 

"  Flavie,  my  dear!  no  one  knows  as  much  of  her  as  you. 
She  is  a  woman  rather  than  a  mother ;  I  have  found  it  neces- 
sary to  do  a  little  courting  in  that  quarter  myself;  and  you 
understand  that,  though  she  may  will  the  marriage,  she  would 
not  urge  it  very  much." 

"Well,"  said  Thuillier,   "leave  that  matter  to  me;  I'll 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  243 

speak  to  Cileste;  I  won't  have  a  chit  of  a  girl  laying  down 
the  law  for  me." 

"That's  just  what  I  don't  wish  you  to  do,"  exclaimed  la 
Peyrade;  **  don't  interfere  in  this  at  all.  Outside  of  your 
relations  with  your  sister  you  have  an  iron  will ;  it  shall  never 
be  said  that  I  took  advantage  of  your  authority  over  Celeste 
to  have  her  placed  in  my  arms ;  on  the  contrary,  I  wish  her  to 
have  full  control  in  the  disposition  of  her  heart ;  only  I  think 
that  she  should  be  required  to  definitely  decide  between  my- 
self and  Monsieur  Felix,  for  I  don't  want  to  remain  in  this 
equivocal  position.  Beside  all,  although  we  agreed  that  this 
marriage  should  not  take  place  until  you  were  a  deputy,  yet  I 
feel  that  makes  too  much  of  a  bargain  and  sale  of  this  business, 
and,  more,  I  cannot  allow  my  life's  greatest  event  to  be  at  the 
mercy  of  doubtful  circumstances.  Dutocq  may  have  informed 
you  that  an  heiress  has  been  offered  me  who  has  a  larger  for- 
tune than  Mademoiselle  Colleville.  I  refused  that  because  I 
foolishly  let  my  heart  be  won,  and  because  an  alliance  with  a 
family  as  honorable  as  your  own  seemed  the  more  to  be  de- 
sired; but,  after  all,  it  might  be  as  well  to  let  Brigitte  under- 
stand that,  in  case  Celeste  should  refuse  me,  I  shall  not  be 
pushed  into  the  street." 

"I  can  easily  believe  that,"  said  Thuillier;  "but  as  for 
putting  all  the  decision  of  this  affair  at  the  mercy  of  that  girl's 
head,  and  if,  as  you  say,  she  has  a  fancy  for  that  Felix " 

"  That  may  be,"  said  the  barrister;  "but  I  cannot  remain 
any  longer  in  my  present  position.  You  talk  about  your 
pamphlet,  I  am  in  no  fit  condition  to  finish  it ;  you  are  a 
ladies'  man  and  can  understand  the  domination  that  those 
creatures  fatally  exercise  over  our  minds." 

"Pshaw  !  "  said  Thuillier,  conceitedly,  "  they  took  to  me. 
but  I  didn't  often  care  for  them;  I  just  took  them  and  left 
them." 

"Yes,  but  I,  with  my  Southern  nature,  am  passionate;  and 
then  Celeste  has  other  attractions  beside  fortune.  Brought  up  by 


2.44  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

yourself,  under  your  own  eyes,  you  have  made  her  an  adorable 
child ;  only  it  was  a  great  weakness  to  allow  that  boy,  who  is 
not  in  any  degree  suited  to  her,  to  install  himself  in  her 
fancy. ' ' 

"You  are  right  ten  times  over;  but  it  was  first  a  childish 
fancy.  Felix  and  she  played  together  ;  you  came  much  later, 
and  it  proves  our  high  regard  for  you  that  when  you  presented 
yourself  we  renounced  our  former  projects." 

"You,  yes,"  said  la  Peyrade.  "With  a  head  filled  with 
literary  manias,  which  are  marked  with  bright  wit  and  full  of 
intelligence,  you  have  a  heart  of  gold ;  but  Brigitte  is  another 
matter ;  your  friendship  is  a  surety,  and  you  know  what  you 
mean." 

"Well,  I  think  that  Brigitte  has  always  wanted  you  and 
would  like  you  for  a  son-in-law,  if  I  may  so  speak.  But  in 
any  case  I  intend  to  be  obeyed." 

"  I  think  I  will  finish  your  pamphlet,  for,  before  all  else,  I 
think  of  you." 

"Certainly,"  said  Thuillier,  "we  ought  not  to  sink  in 
port." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  a  girl  should  be  able  to  make  up  her 
mind  in  fifteen  days." 

"Without  a  doubt,"  replied  Thuillier;  "but  I  have  the 
greatest  repugnance  in  allowing  Celeste  to  decide  without 
appeal." 

"  I'll  take  the  chances ;  but,  between  you  and  I,  it  is  not 
shooting  at  a  venture;  it  is  not  in  fifteen  days  that  a  son  of 
Phellion,  who  is,  one  may  say,  obstinacy  incarnate  in  silliness, 
will  make  an  end  of  his  philosophical  hesitations,  and  certainly 
Celeste  will  never  accept  him  for  her  husband  until  he  gives 
her  proof  of  his  conversion." 

"  That  is  probable.  But  if  C6leste  dawdles  over  the  matter, 
suppose  she  won't  accept  the  alternative?  " 

"You  will  have  to  look  after  that,"  said  the  Proven9al. 
"  I  don't  know  how  you  rqanage  families  in  Paris,  but  in  our 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  245 

country  of  Avignon  it  would  be  witliout  parallel  that  a  young 
woman  should  be  given  such  liberty.  If  all  of  you  cannot 
prevail  on  a  girl  to  exercise  her  own  free  choice  between  two 
suitors — well,  the  sooner  you  write  over  the  door  of  the  house 
that  Celeste  is  queen  and  sovereign  the  better." 

"We've  not  come  to  that  yet,"  said  Thuillier,  with  a  firm 
manner.  "I'll  open  it  frankly  with  Brigitte,  and  I  will  not 
have  any  objections." 

"Ah  !  my  poor  fellow,"  said  la  Peyrade,  clapping  him  on 
the  shoulder,  "since  Chrysale,  in  '  Femmes  Savantes,'  who 
has  not  continually  seen  many  brave  warriors  who  have 
struck  their  flags  before  the  powerful  will  of  women  used  to 
domineer." 

"  We'll  see  about  that,"  said  Thuillier,  making  a  theatrical 
exit. 

When  he  returned  home  Thuillier  at  once  put  the  question 
before  Brigitte.  She,  with  her  native  wit,  good  sense,  and 
egotism,  pointed  out  that  by  thus  hurrying  on  the  previous 
arrangements  for  the  marriage  they  were  disarming  them- 
selves; they  could  not  say  when  the  election  would  be  held, 
nor  that  when  it  occurred  whether  the  barrister  would  be  as 
energetic  for  success.  "It  might  be,"  said  the  old  maid, 
"the  same  as  the  Cross." 

"There's  a  difference,"  replied  Thuillier;  "the  Cross  did 
not  depend  directly  on  la  Peyrade,  but  his  influence  in  the 
arrondissement  he  employs  as  he  wills." 

"And  if  he  wills,"  retorted  Brigitte,  "after  we  have 
feathered  his  nest,  to  work  on  his  own  account?  he's  very 
ambitious." 

This  danger  did  not  fail  to  strike  the  future  candidate,  who 
nevertheless  thought  he  might  depend  upon  the  honor  of  la 
Peyrade. 

"It  is  not  a  particularly  delicate  honor,"  replied  Brigitte, 
"  when  a  man  tries  to  get  out  of  a  bargain  he  made,  and  his 
idea  of  dangling  a  lump  of  sugar  before  us  about  getting 


246  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

'your'  pamphlet  finished  doesn't  please  me  at  all.  Couldn't 
Phellion  help  you  ?  Or,  I  think,  Madame  de  Godollo,  who 
is  well  known  in  political  circles,  could  hire  you  a  journalist ; 
there  are  plenty  of  such  on  their  uppers ;  you  could  get  the 
whole  thing  done  for  a  twenty-crown  piece." 

"No,  I  must  have  Th^odose,  otherwise  the  secret  might  get 
into  the  papers.  Beside,  after  all,  we  promised  him  Celeste, 
it  is  only  fulfilling  the  promise  a  little  earlier ;  the  King,  of 
course,  may  dissolve  the  Chamber  at  any  moment." 

"  But  if  Celeste  won't  have  him  ?"  objected  Brigitte. 

"  Celeste  !  Celeste  !  "  ejaculated  Thuillier ;  "  she  can't  have 
whom  she  wills,  but  whom  we  choose." 

"So  you  really  believe,"  said  the  skeptical  Mile.  Thuillier, 
"  that  should  Celeste  decide  in  favor  of  F6lix,  you  can  still 
count  on  la  Peyrade's  devotion?" 

"  What  else  can  I  do?  Tliose  are  his  conditions.  Beside, 
he  has  made  calculations  of  the  whole  business,  he  knows  that 
Felix  will  not  so  soon  decide  to  bring  Celeste  a  certificate  of 
confession,  and  if  he  does  not  do  this  that  little  witch  will  not 
accept  him  for  her  husband.  La  Peyrade  plays  a  clever 
game." 

"Too  clever,"  said  Brigitte;  "I  won't  interfere;  settle  it 
as  you  please ;  all  this  scheming  is  not  to  my  taste." 

Thuillier  saw  Mme.  CoUeville,  and  intimated  to  her  that 
Celeste  must  be  informed  of  the  projects  about  her. 

When  informed  that  she  must  choose  between  Felix  and  la 
Peyrade,  the  naive  child  was  only  struck  by  the  advantage 
of  one  side  of  the  attractions  offered ;  she  thought  she  did 
herself  a  favor  by  consenting  to  an  arrangement  which  made 
herself  the  mistress  of  disposing  of  her  person  and  to  bestow 
her  heart  as  she  wished.  But  la  Peyrade  had  not  miscalcu- 
lated when  he  reckoned  that  the  religious  intolerance  on  one 
part  and  on  the  other  side  the  philosophical  inflexibility  of 
Phellion  would  create  an  invincible  obstacle  to  their  coming 
together. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  247 

The  evening  of  the  same  day  when  Flavie  had  been  in- 
structed to  communicate  to  Celeste  the  sovereign  will  of  the 
Thuilliers,  the  Phellions  came  to  pass  their  evening  with 
Brigitte,  and  a  sharp  engagement  took  place  between  the 
young  people.  Celeste  did  not  need  telling  by  her  mother, 
for  she  had  too  much  delicacy  of  feeling,  that  she  must  not 
allow  herself  to  mention  to  Felix  the  conditional  approval  of 
his  suit.  Theological  arguments  occupied  the  time  they  were 
together,  and  Phellion  junior  was  in  the  encounter  more  than 
usually  unlucky  and  blundering.  He  would  concede  nothing ; 
he  took  on  an  air  of  airy  and  ironical  importance  and  ended 
by  fairly  putting  Celeste  beside  herself;  she  made  a  definite 
rupture  with  him  and  forbade  him  appearing  in  her  presence 
for  the  future. 

It  was  just  a  case  for  lovers  of  experience,  which  the  young 
savant  was  not,  to  turn  up  the  very  next  day,  for  hearts  never 
approach  so  near  to  an  understanding  as  when  they  have  de- 
clared the  necessity  for  an  eternal  separation.  But  this  law  is 
not  logarithms,  and  Felix  Phellion,  incapable  of  guessing  it, 
believed  himself  seriously  and  very  positively  proscribed  ;  to 
that  extent  indeed  that  during  the  fifteen  days  given  to  the 
young  girl  for  her  decision,  and  although  he  was  expected  by 
Celeste  day  by  day  and  minute  by  minute,  who  thought  no 
more  of  la  Peyrade  than  if  he  was  entirely  out  of  the  question, 
this  deplorable  boy  had  not  the  most  distant  thought  of  break- 
ing the  ban. 

Luckily  for  this  benighted  lover  a  beneficent  fairy  was  watch- 
ing over  him,  r,nd  the  day  before  the  one  on  which  Celeste 
must  declare  her  choice,  this  came  to  pass.  It  was  Sunday, 
the  day  on  which  the  Thuilliers  still  affected  their  periodical 
receptions. 

Convinced  that  the  leakage,  vulgarly  known  as  the  "basket 
dance,"  was  the  ruin  of  the  fortunes  of  the  best  establishments, 
Mme.  Phellion  was  in  the  habit  of  going  in  person  to  purchase 
from  her  tradespeople.     From  time  immemorial  in  the  Phel- 


248  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

lion  household,  Sunday  was  the  day  of  \\\t  potau-feu,^  and  the 
wife  of  that  great  citizen,  in  an  intentionally  dowdy  costume, 
such  as  good  housewives  bundle  themselves  up  in  when  they 
go  marketing,  was  returning  from  the  butcher's,  followed  by 
her  cook,  who  carried  in  her  basket  a  fine  cut  of  rump  of  beef. 
Twice  had  she  rung  her  door-bell,  and  threatening  was  the 
storm  brewing  for  the  servant-boy,  who  was  placing  his  mis- 
tress in  a  position  less  tolerable  than  that  of  Louis  XIV.,  who 
only  *'  nearly  "  waited,  by  not  opening  her  door.  Just  as  she 
gave  the  bell  a  third  feverish,  excited  pull,  you  can  judge  of 
her  confusion  when  she  perceived  a  coupe  draw  up,  and  de- 
scending therefrom  a  lady  whom  she  recognized,  at  this  un- 
timely hour,  as  the  elegant  Comtesse  Torna  de  Godollo,  the 
Hungarian. 

Becoming  a  scarlet-purple,  the  unhappy  bourgeoise  com- 
pletely lost  her  head,  she  floundered  in  excuses,  each  more 
awkward  than  the  last,  when  Phellion,  attired  in  a  dressing- 
gown  and  Greek  cap,  came  out  of  his  study  to  learn  what  the 
matter  was.  After  a  speech,  the  pomposity  of  which  made 
ample  amends  for  the  neglige  of  his  costume,  the  great  citizen, 
with  that  serenity  which  never  deserted  him,  gallantly  offered 
his  hand  to  the  stranger,  and  after  having  installed  her  in  the 
salon : 

"  Perhaps,  without  indiscretion,  I  might  ask  Madame  la 
Comtesse,"  said  he,  "  to  what  I  am  indebted  for  the  advan- 
tages, so  unhoped  for,  of  this  visit?" 

"I  desired,"  replied  the  Hungarian,  "to  have  a  talk  with 
Madame  Phellion  on  a  subject  of  vital  interest  to  her ;  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  of  calling  upon  her,  although  so  little  known 
to  madame." 

Before  Phellion  could  reply  Mme.  Phellion  appeared  ;  a  cap 
with  ribbons  had  replaced  the  market-hat  and  a  large  shawl 
concealed  the  other  things  lacking  in  the  matutinal  toilet.     On 

*  A  popular  French  dish  of  stewed  beef:  the  same  name  is  given  to  the 
rtock-pot. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  249 

the  entrance  of  his  wife  the  great  citizen  made  as  though  he 
would  retire. 

"  Monsieur  Phellion,"  said  the  countess,  '*  you  are  not  out  of 
place  in  our  conference ;  on  the  contrary,  your  excellent  judg- 
ment may  be  of  the  utmost  benefit  in  clearing  up  a  question 
not  less  interesting  to  your  wife  than  to  your  dignified  self;  I 
allude  to  the  marriage  of  monsieur,  your  son." 

"  The  marriage  of  my  son  !  "  said  Mme.  Phellion,  with  an 
air  of  astonishment;  "but  I  am  not  aware  that  anything  of 
the  kind  is  on  the  tapis  at  present." 

"  The  marriage  of  Monsieur  Felix  with  Celeste  is,  I  think, 
your  desire,"  replied  the  countess  ;   "  one  of  your  projects?  " 

"We  have  never,  madame,"  said  Phellion,  "taken  any 
special  steps  toward  that  object." 

"I  know  that  full  well,"  replied  the  Hungarian  ;  "on  the 
contrary,  each  one  of  your  family  seems  to  study  how  to 
nullify  my  efforts ;  but  one  thing  is  clear,  that  is,  the  young 
people  love  each  other,  and  in  spite  of  your  reserve,  and  to 
prevent  the  unhappiness  they  will  experience  if  they  do  not 
marry,  it  is  to  prevent  that  catastrophe  that  I  came  here  this 
morning." 

"We  cannot,  madame,"  said  Phellion,  "fail  to  be  pro- 
foundly touched  by  your  interest  in " 

"But  the  explanation  is  very  simple,"  interrupted  the 
countess,  with  animation.  "  Celeste  is  a  dear,  innocent  child, 
and  I  detect  a  moral  value  in  her  that  makes  me  regret  to  see 
her  sacrificed." 

"It  is  true,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  "  that  Celeste  is  an  angel 
of  sweetness." 

"  While,  as  for  Monsieur  Felix,  I  dare  to  interest  myself  in 
him  because,  first,  he  is  the  worthy  son  of  the  most  virtuous 
of  fathers " 

"Madame,   I    beg "    said   Phellion   with   a  graceful 

obeisance. 

"And  further  by  the  awkwardness  of  his  true  love,  which 


250  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

is  apparent  in  his  every  act  and  word.  We  more  mature 
women  can  find  an  inexpressible  charm  in  watching  the  passion 
under  a  form  which  does  not  menace  us  with  deceptions  and 
misunderstandings. ' ' 

"In  fact,  my  son,  is  not  brilliant/'  said  Mme.  Phellion, 
with  a  suspicion  of  tartness  in  her  tone;  "  he  is  not  a  young 
man  of  fashion." 

"But  he  has  the  more  essential  qualities,"  replied  the 
countess  ;  "  a  merit  which  ignores  itself,  which  in  every  intel- 
lectual superiority " 

"In  truth,  madame,"  said  Phellion,  "you  compel  us  to 
hear  things " 

"That  are  not  beyond  the  truth,"  interrupted  the  countess. 
"  I  have  another  reason:  lam  not  particularly  desirous  that 
la  Peyrade  should  be  made  happy,  he  is  false  and  avaricious. 
On  the  ruin  of  their  hopes  this  man  counts  on  building  his 
swindling  schemes," 

"It  is  certain,"  said  Phellion,  "that  Monsieur  de  la  Pey- 
rade has  dark  depths  which  the  light  has  never  penetrated. 
You  have  told  us  of  where  wc  are  remiss,  it  appears  to  me 
that  you  should  plainly  indicate  what  you  would  have  us  do 
for  the  future." 

"Well,  it  is  fifteen  days  of  absence  from  the  Thuilliers 
of  the  whole  of  your  family ;  do  you  imagine  that  nothing 
of  importance  could  occur  in  that  time?"  said- the  Hun- 
garian. 

"Of  a  truth,  those  three  glorious  days  were  enough,  in 
1830,  to  throw  down  a  perjured  dynasty  and  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  the  order  of  things  under  which  we  are  now  gov- 
erned." 

"You  see  it  yourself,"  said  the  countess.  "And  on  that 
last  evening  did  nothing  occur  between  Celeste  and  monsieur, 
your  son?  " 

"Truly,"  replied  Phellion,  "a  disagreeable  conversation 
on  the  subject  of  religion  ;  it  must  be  allowed  that  our  good 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  251 

Cefeste,  who  in  every  other  respect  has  a  most  lovely  nature, 
is  a  little  fanatical  in  the  matter  of  piety." 

"  I  agree  with  you,"  said  the  countess  ;  "  but  she  was  raised 
by  the  mother  whom  you  know ;  she  has  never  been  shown 
the  face  of  sincere  piety  ;  she  has  only  seen  its  mask  ;  repent- 
ant Magdalcns  of  Madame  Colleville's  kind  always  wear  an 
air  of  wishing  to  retire  into  the  desert  in  company  with  a 
death's  head  and  cross-bones.  They  think  that's  the  best 
market  at  which  to  get  religion.  After  all,  now,  what  was  it 
that  Celeste  asked  of  Monsieur  Felix  ?  Only  that  he  would 
read  'The  Imitation  of  Christ.'  " 

"  He  has  done  that,  madame,"  replied  Phellion  ;  "  he  finds 
it  a  well-written  book,  but  his  convictions — that's  the  mis- 
fortune— have  not  in  the  least  changed  by  its  perusal." 

"  Do  you  think  it  shows  much  cleverness  not  to  let  his 
mistress  see  some  little  change  in  the  inflexibility  of  his 
convictions?  " 

"  My  son,  madame,  has  never  received  from  me  the  least 
lesson  in  smartness ;  loyalty  and  the  right,  these  are  the  prin- 
ciples I  have  inculcated." 

"Allowing  all  that — need  he,  think  you,  have  capped  his 
proceedings  by  a  long  sulk,  which  has  struck  the  girl's  heart 
with  despair  and,  also,  a  deep  feeling  of  irritation." 

"My  son  is  incapable  of  acting  thus.  I  know  nothing  of 
what  you  allude  to,"  said  Phellion. 

"  Nothing  is  more  true,  though.  Young  Colleville,  home 
for  his  half-holiday,  has  just  told  us  that  since  last  Sunday  but 
one  Monsieur  Felix,  who  had  always  gone  with  the  utmost 
punctuality  to  teach  him,  has  not  been  near  him.  Unless 
your  son  is  ill,  this  is  a  grievous  blunder." 

The  Phellions,  husband  and  wife,  stared  at  each  other  as  if 
consulting  how  to  reply. 

"My  son,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  "is  not  exactly  ill;  but, 
as  you  have  seen  fit  to  reveal  this  to  us,  a  thing  very  strange  and 
not  at  all  like  himself,  we  see,  since  Celeste  told  him  that  all 

W 


252  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

was  over  between  her  and  Felix,  that  a  most  extraordinary 
change  has  passed  over  him ;  Monsieur  Phellion  and  myself 
are  very  uneasy  about  it." 

"And  yet,"  said  Mme.  de  Godollo,  "nothing  but  what  is 
natural  happened ;  lovers  always  make  the  worst  of  every- 
thing." 

"But  he  is  terribly  excited,"  said  Phellion.  "You  speak 
to  him  and  he  seems  not  to  hear  you ;  he  sits  at  table  and 
forgets  to  eat ;  or  else  he  takes  his  food  so  absent-mindedly  as 
to  be,  so  say  the  medical  profession,  most  injurious  to  the 
digestive  process ;  his  duties,  his  regular  occupations,  we  have 
to  remind  him  of,  he  so  extremely  regular,  so  punctual.  The 
other  day  while  he  was  at  the  Conservatory,  where  he  now 
passes  all  his  evenings,  only  returning  home  in  the  small 
hours,  I  went  into  his  room  and  looked  into  his  papers ;  ma- 
dame,  I  was  absolutely  alarmed  on  seeing  a  paper  covered 
with  algebraic  calculations  which,  by  their  extent,  seemed  to 
me  to  pass  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  human  intellect." 

"Perhaps,"  said  the  countess,  "he  is  on  the  eve  of  the  dis- 
covery of  a  mighty  problem," 

"Or  else  on  the  road  to  lunacy,"  said  Mme.  Phellion. 

"A  mind  equable  and  calm  as  is  his  need  not  be  afraid 
of  that,"  said  the  countess,  "But  a  greater  danger  threatens 
his  understanding.  Unless  we  stop  it  this  evening  by  a  master- 
stroke, Celeste  is  lost  to  him  forever." 

"How  is  that  ?"  said  the  Phellions,  with  one  voice. 

"Perhaps  you  are  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  Thuillier  and 
his  sister  had  entered  into  an  express  engagement  with  la 
Peyrade  that  he  should  marry  Celeste,"  said  the  countess. 

"We  at  least  had  our  misgivings,"  said  Phellion, 

"It  would  be  useless  to  tell  you  of  the  manoeuvres  la  Pey- 
rade has  practiced  to  hasten  this  marriage,  but  it  concerns 
you  to  know  that,  thanks  to  his  duplicity,  Celeste  was  forced 
to  decide  in  fifteen  days  between  him  and  Monsieur  Felix ; 
that  time  expires  to-morrow,  and,  owing  to  the  unfortunate 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  253 

turn  taken  through  your  son's  attitude,  there  is  imminent 
danger  of  her  sacrificing  her  wounded  feelings  on  the  altar 
of  her  love  and  instincts." 

"But  what  can  be  done  to  hinder  this,  madame?"  asked 
Phellion. 

"Fight,  monsieur;  come  this  evening  in  full  force  to  the 
Thuilliers;  induce  your  son  to  come;  lecture  him  until  he 
becomes  rather  more  flexible  in  his  philosophical  opinions. 
'Paris,'  said  Henry  IV.,  '  is  worth  a  mass;'  but  tell  him  to 
avoid  such  questions ;  any  man  who  loves  a  woman  can  find 
enough  to  talk  about  to  move  a  woman  ;  so  little  satisfies  her. 
I  will  help  where  I  can.  One  thing  is  sure,  we  have  to  fight 
a  big  battle ;  if  we  do  not  each  one  strive  our  utmost,  la  Pey- 
rade  will  gain  the  victory." 

"  My  son  is  not  here,  madame,"  said  Phellion.  "I  wish 
he  had  been,  you  might  have  aroused  him  from  his  torpor." 

"  It  is  unnecessary  to  say,"  added  the  countess,  as  she  rose, 
**  that  we  must  be  careful  not  to  give  any  appearance  of  col- 
lusion ;  it  would  be  better,  in  fact,  not  to  be  seen  speaking 
together." 

"  I  can  assure  you,  madame,  of  my  prudence,"  replied 
Phellion,  "and  you  will  please  to  accept  the  assurance " 

"Of  your  most  distinguished  sentiments,"  interrupted  the 
countess,  laughing. 

"No,  madame,"  gravely  responded  Phellion,  "I  reserve 
that  formula  for  the  conclusion  of  my  letters ;  but  you  will 
please  accept  the  most  unutterable  gratitude  of  myself." 

"We  will  speak  of  that  when  we  are  beyond  all  danger," 
said  Mme.  de  Godollo,  going  toward  the  door,  "  and  if  Mad- 
ame Phellion,  the  tenderest  of  mothers,  will  grant  me  a  little 
place  in  her  regards,  I  shall  be  fully  repaid." 

Mme.  Phellion  launched  into  an  endless  sea  of  compliments. 
The  countess  in  her  carriage  was  some  distance  away  before 
Phellion  had  ceased  offering  his  most  respectful  salutations. 

By  degrees  the  salon  of  Brigitte  became  more  select  and 


254  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

less  insidious,  a  livelier  Parisian  element  began  to  infiltrate 
therein.  Tiie  new  councilor  had  made  a  number  of  recruits 
from  among  his  associates  in  the  council ;  the  Latin  quarter 
element  became  less.  The  mayor  of  his  arrondissement 
and  several  deputy  mayors  had  called  upon  him  after  the 
removal  to  the  Madeleine  quarter.  Thuillier  had  hastened  to 
return  the  civility ;  he  had  also  the  same  experience  with  a 
number  of  the  superior  officers  of  the  First  Legion.  Among 
others  came  Rabourdin,  the  former  head  of  Tliuillier's  bureau, 
who  had  lost  his  wife  ;  Px.abourdin  occupied  as  a  bachelor  the 
third  floor  of  their  house  over  the  entresol.  He  was  now  a 
director  in  one  of  the  numerous  railroads,  ever  projected  but 
always  delayed  by  the  indecision  of  the  Chamber  or  rival 
claims;  but  he  had  now  become  one  of  the  most  important 
personages  in  the  world  of  finance.  At  the  time  of  his  resig- 
nation, under  deplorable  circumstances,  of  his  position  in  the 
bureaux,  Phellion  was  the  only  one  in  his  office  who  had  stood 
by  him.  Being  now  in  a  position  to  reward  his  friends,  Ra- 
bourdin, meeting  once  more  his  faithful  subordinate,  at  once 
made  him  an  offer  of  an  easy,  lucrative  position. 

'*  Mosieur,"  replied  Phellion,  "  your  kindness  both  touches 
and  honors  me,  but  my  frankness  owes  you  a  confession  which 
I  trust  you  will  not  take  amiss.  I  have  no  belief  in  these  iron 
roads,  or  *  railroads,'  as  the  English  call  them." 

'•'You  have  a  perfect  right  to  have  your  own  opinion,"  said 
Rabourdin,  smiling,  ''but  in  the  interim,  until  the  contrary 
appears,  we  pay  our  servants  very  satisfactorily,  and  I  should 
be  pleased  to  have  you  with  me.  I  know  by  experience  that 
you  are  fully  reliable." 

"Mosieur,"  replied  the  great  citizen,  "  I  did  my  duty  and 
nothing  more.  As  for  the  offer  you  have  been  so  good  as  to 
make  me,  I  cannot  accept  it.  Satisfied  with  my  humble  lot, 
I  feel  neither  the  need  nor  the  desire  to  again  embark  on  an 
administrative  career,  and,  with  the  Latin  poet,  I  may  say: 
" '  Claudite  jam  rivos,  pucri,  sat  prata  bibcrunt.'  " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  255 

Thus  elevated  in  the  social  scale,  the  Thuillier  salon  still 
needed  another  element  of  vitality,  and,  to  speak  as  Madelon 
in  the  **  Prdcieuses  ridicules,"  this  *'  frightful  lack  of  amuse- 
ment," signified  by  Mme.  Pliellion,  required  remedying. 
Thanks  to  the  attention  of  Mme.  de  Godollo,  the  great  or- 
ganizer, who  happily  profited  by  the  former  relations  of  Colle- 
ville  with  the  musical  world,  a  few  artists  came  to  make  a 
diversion  from  bouilloUe  and  boston.  Out  of  fashion  and  old, 
these  two  games  had  to  beat  a  retreat  before  whist,  the  only 
manner,  said  the  Hungarian  countess,  by  which  respectable 
people  can  kill  time. 

Like  Louis  XVI.,*  who  began  by  putting  his  hand  to  re- 
forms which  should  subsequently  engulf  his  throne,  Brigitte 
at  first  encouraged  this  interior  revolution.  But  the  day  on 
which  occurred  the  scene  we  are  about  to  relate,  an  apparently 
trivial  detail  had  revealed  to  her  the  danger  of  the  slope  upon 
which  she  was  standing.  The  greater  number  of  the  new 
guests  introduced  by  Thuillier  were  unaware  of  the  supremacy 
of  his  sister  in  the  household  ;  upon  arrival  they  naturally 
asked  Thuillier  to  present  them  to  "  madame;  "  of  course  it 
was  impossible  that  he  could  inform  them  that  his  wife  was 
but  a  dummy  queen  who  groaned  under  the  iron  hand  of  a 
Richelieu,  the  sole  authority.  Therefore  it  was  not  until  after 
this  presentation  that  they  were  led  up  to  Brigitte,  but  the 
stiffness  she  manifested  in  her  displeasure  did  not  encourage 
them  in  paying  her  further  attentions.  Quick  to  realize  this 
transfer  of  power : 

"If  I  don't  look  out,"  said  this  Queen  Elizabeth  to  herself, 
with  that  profound  instinct  of  despotism  which  was  her  ruling 
passion,  "  I  shall  soon  be  a  nobody  here." 

Pondering  over  this  idea,  she  saw  that  the  audacious  la 

Peyrade  would  not  scotch  this  decline  of  prestige ;  a  further 

intuition  whispered  her  that  Felix  Phellion,  absorbed  in  his 

mathematical  abstractions,  would  be  a  more  suitable  match 

*  His  want  of  decision  led  to  the  revolution  of  1792. 


256  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

than  the  enterprising  barrister.  She  was  the  first  to  regret 
that  the  Phellions  had  come  without  their  son.  Despite  Mme. 
de  GodoUo's  advances,  this  terrible  lover  had  taken  as  guide 
the  last  line  of  Millevoye's  famous  elegy:  Et  son  amante  ne 
vint pas — the  beloved  came  not. 

As  for  Mme.  de  Godollo,  who  possessed  a  remarkably  fine 
voice,  she  went  up  to  ask  Mme.  Phellion  to  accompany  her 
on  the  piano,  to  whom  she  whispered  in  her  ear,  between  two 
verses  of  a  fashionable  ballad  : 

"Well,  and  monsieur,  your  son?  " 

"He  is  coming,"  replied  Mme.  Phellion;  "his  father 
spoke  most  emphatically  to  him  ;  but  it  seems  that  to-night 
there  is  a  conjunction  of  some  planets ;  it  is  a  grand  occasion 
for  the  gentlemen  of  the  Observatory ;  he  did  not  feel  as 
though  he  could  dispense " 

"This  is  simply  inconceivable,  that  he  could  be  so  foolish," 
said  the  countess ;  "  was  it  not  enough  that  he  brought  his 
theology  here  that  he  should  now  blunderingly  drag  in  his 
astronomy." 

Her  song  was  finished,  as  the  English  say,  amid  thunders 
of  applause.  La  Peyrade,  who  dreaded  her  excessively,  was 
among  the  first  to  congratulate  her,  but  she  received  his  com- 
pliments most  coldly,  and  he  turned  away  to  find  consolation 
with  Mme.  Colleville.  Flavie  had  too  many  pretensions  to 
beauty  not  to  feel  an  enmity  toward  a  woman  who  in  a  manner 
intercepted  her  due  homage. 

"And  you  also  mean  to  say  that  that  woman  sings  well?" 
asked  Mme.  Colleville  of  the  barrister. 

"At  least  I  had  to  tell  her  so,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "be- 
cause there's  no  security  of  Brigitte  without  her.  But  look  at 
C61este;  every  time  a  tray  is  brought  in  she  turns  to  the 
door." 

"  Don't  worry  me  !  "  said  Flavie ;  "  I  know  what  that  fool- 
ish girl  has  in  her  mind ;  your  marriage  will  take  place  only 
too  soon." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  257 

"But  is  it  for  my  own  sake?"  said  la  Peyraue;  "it  is 
necessary  for  the  future  of  the  whole  of  us.  Come,  there  are 
tears  in  your  eyes.  I  shall  leave  you ;  you  are  unreasonable. 
The  devil !  as  that  old  prude  Phellion  says,  if  you  want  the 
end  you  need  the  means." 

And  he  went  toward  a  group  in  the  centre ;  Mme.  Colle- 
ville  followed,  and  under  the  strong  feeling  of  jealousy  she 
had  just  displayed  she  became  a  savage  mother. 

"  Celeste,"  said  she,  "  why  don't  you  sing?  A  number  of 
gentlemen  wish  to  hear  you." 

"  Oh,  mamma  !  "  said  Celeste,  "  how  can  I,  with  my  poor 
thread  of  a  voice,  sing  after  madame.  Beside,  you  know  that 
I  have  a  cold." 

"That  means  that  you  intend  to  be  disagreeable;  people 
sing  as  they  can,  every  voice  has  its  own  merits." 

"My  dear  love,"  said  Colleville,  who  had  just  lost  twenty 
francs  at  a  card-table,  and  found  the  nerve  in  his  vexations  to 
oppose  his  wife,  "  to  say  one  sings  as  he  can  is  a  bourgeois 
maxim ;  people  sing  with  a  voice  if  they  have  one,  but  not 
after  hearing  an  operatic  voice  like  that  of  Madame  la  Com- 
tesse's ;  for  my  part,  I  am  perfectly  willing  to  let  Celeste  off 
warbling  a  sentimental  ditty." 

"It's  a  grand  idea  to  spend  so  much  money  on  expensive 
masters,"  said  Flavie,  as  she  left  the  group,  "and  then  get 
nothing  in  return." 

"So,"  said  Colleville,  resuming  the  conversation  in  which 
he  had  been  interrupted  by  the  invasion  of  Mme.  Colleville, 
"  Felix  no  longer  inhabits  the  earth ;  he  passes  his  time  among 
the  stars?" 

"My  dear  old  colleague,"  said  Phellion,  "I  am  as  much 
annoyed  as  yourself  with  my  son  for  neglecting  the  oldest 
friends  of  his  family ;  and,  though  the  contemplation  of  the 
great  luminous  bodies  suspended  in  space  by  the  hand  of  the 
Creator  present,  in  my  opinion,  more  interest  to  me  than  your 
overwrought  brain  seems  to  imagine,  yet  I  think  that  F6lix 
17 


268  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

shows  a  lack  of  propriety  by  not  coming  here  to-night,  espe- 
cially as  he  gave  me  his  promise." 

"Science,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "is  a  fine  thing,  but,  unfortu- 
nately, it  has  the  drawback  of  making  bears  and  maniacs." 

"Without  counting,"  said  Celeste,  "the  undermining  of 
all  religion." 

"  In  that,  my  child,  you  are  mistaken,"  said  the  countess. 
"  Pascal,  himself  a  shining  example  of  the  falsity  of  your  view, 
says,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  that  a  little  science  leads  us 
away  from  religion  but  a  great  deal  draws  us  back  to  it." 

"  Bring  back  a  savant  to  the  practice  of  religion,  madame," 
said  la  Peyrade,  "  it  seems  to  me  a  difficult  task ;  these  gentle- 
men put  their  studies  before  everything  else ;  tell  a  geome- 
trician or  geologist,  for  example,  that  the  church  imperatively 
insists  on  the  sanctification  of  Sunday  and  a  suspension  of  every 
kind  of  work,  and  they  shrug  their  shoulders,  although  God 
himself  did  not  disdain  to  rest." 

"  Therefore  by  not  coming  here  this  evening,"  said  Celeste, 
innocently,  "he  not  only  commits  a  breach  of  good  manners, 
but  also  sins." 

"But  tell  me,  my  handsome,"  replied  Mme.  de  Godollo, 
"do  you  think  that  our  assembling  here  to  sing  ballads  and 
eat  ices  and  speak  evil  of  others,  as  is  the  practice  in  draw- 
ing-rooms, is  more  pleasing  to  God  than  seeing  a  scientific 
man  in  his  observatory  engaged  in  studying  the  magnificent 
secrets  of  the  creation  ?  " 

"There's  a  time  for  all  things,"  said  Celeste,  "and,  as 
Monsieur  la  Peyrade  says,  *  God  did  not  disdain  to  rest.*  " 

"But,  my  dear  love,"  said  Mme.  de  Godollo,  "God  has 
the  time  so  to  do  ;  He  is  eternal." 

"That,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "is  one  of  the  wittiest  impieties 
ever  issued.  Those  kind  of  arguments  serve  the  turn  of  folk 
of  the  world.  They  interpret  and  explain  away  the  com- 
mands of  God,  they  interpret,  take,  choose  among  them  as 
they  will ;  the  free-thinker  subjects  them  to  his  sovereign  re* 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES,  269 

vision,  and  free-thinking  is  but  a  short  distance  from  free- 
conduct." 

During  this  tirade  Mme.  de  Godollo  was  watching  the 
clock ;  it  now  marked  eleven.  The  salon  began  to  empty. 
Only  one  table  was  going  on,  the  players  being  Minard, 
Thuillier,  and  two  new  acquaintances.  All  tended  to  show 
that  the  hope  of  seeing  the  tardy  lover  was  evidently  lost. 

''Monsieur,"  said  the  countess  to  la  Peyrade,  ''do  you 
think  the  gentlemen  of  the  Rue  des  Postes  have  the  honor  of 
being  good  Catholics  ?  " 

"Without  a  doubt,"  answered  the  barrister;  ''religion  has 
no  more  earnest  supporters." 

"Well,  this  morning,"  continued  the  countess,  "I  had  the 
honor  of  being  received  by  Father  Anselme.  He  is  considered 
the  model  of  every  Christian  virtue,  yet  this  good  father  is  a 
very  learned  mathematician." 

"  I  did  not  say,  madame,  that  the  two  qualities  were  in- 
compatible." 

"  But  you  did  say  that  a  good  Christian  would  do  no  man- 
ner of  work  on  Sunday ;  thus  Father  Anselme  must  be  a  mis- 
creant ;  for  at  the  moment  I  gained  access  to  his  room  I  found 
him  standing  in  front  of  a  blackboard,  a  piece  of  chalk  in  his 
hand,  busy  with  a  difficult  problem,  for  the  board  was  covered 
with  algebraic  characters,  and,  further,  he  didn't  seem  to 
realize  that  he  might  create  a  scandal,  for  with  him  was  a 
person  whom  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  name,  but  it  was  a  young 
scientist  of  great  promise,  who  shared  his  profane  occupa- 
tion." 

Celeste  and  Mme.  Thuillier  as  they  looked  at  each  other 
saw  a  gleam  of  hope  in  each  other's  eyes. 

"Then  you  know  a  number  of  young  savants?"  asked 
Cdleste;  "this  one  and  Monsieur  Felix  make  two." 

"As  for  me,"  said  la  Peyrade,  ironically,  "I  shouldn't  be 
in  the  least  surprised  if  Father  Anselme's  collaborator  was 
precisely  that  F6lix  Phellion  j  Voltaire  always  kept  up  close 


260  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

relations  with  the  Jesuits  who  brought  him  up,  only  he  did 
not  discuss  religion  with  them." 

"Well,  my  young  savant  he  does  discuss  it  with  his  vener- 
able confrere  in  the  sciences ;  he  explains  his  doubts  to  him, 
and,  in  fact,  this  was  the  commencement  of  their  scientific 
friendship." 

"And  Father  Anselme,"  asked  Celeste,  "does  he  hope  to 
convert  this  young  man  ?  " 

"He  is  sure  of  so  doing,"  replied  the  countess.  "His 
young  collaborator,  apart  from  religious  education,  which  he 
never  received,  is  a  man  of  most  excellent  parts  and  the 
highest  principles  ;  moreover,  he  well  knows  that  his  conver- 
sion would  give  happiness  to  a  charming  young  girl  whom  he 
loves  and  who  loves  him  in  return.  Now,  my  dear  child,  you 
won't  get  another  word  out  of  me;  you  can  fancy  what  you 
please." 

"  Oh  !  my  godmother,"  said  Celeste,  yielding  to  the  inno- 
cence of  her  impressions,  "if  it  were  he  !  " 

At  this  moment  the  servant  opened  the  door  of  the  salon 
and,  singular  coincidence,  announced:  "Monsieur  Felix 
Phellion." 

The  young  professor  entered,  bathed  in  perspiration,  his 
cravat  askew,  and  himself  out  of  breath. 

"A  pretty  time,  this,"  said  Phellion,  with  severity,  "to 
present  yourself." 

"My  father,"  said  Felix,  moving  to  where  Mme.  Thuillier 
and  Celeste  were  seated,  "I  was  unable  to  leave  before  the 
close  of  the  phenomenon  ;  I  could  find  no  coach  and  have  run 
all  the  way." 

"Your  ears  must  have  burned  on  the  road,"  said  la  Pey- 
rade,  sneeringly,  "  for  you  have  occupied  the  thoughts  of 
these  ladies  up  to  now ;  you  have  been  the  subject  of  a 
great  problem  to  them," 

Felix  did  not  answer ;  he  went  to  greet  Brigitte,  who  had 
just  entered  from  the  dining-room.     After  she  had  reproached 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  261 

him  for  the  rarity  of  his  visits  and  receiving  her  pardon  in  a 
"Better  late  than  never,"  he  turned  to  his  pole  and  was  as- 
tonished to  hear  Madame  de  Godollo  say  to  him  : 

"Monsieur,  you  must  pardon  my  indiscretion  done  in  the 
heat  of  conversation  about  you ;  I  have  told  them  where  I  met 
you  this  morning." 

"Where  have  I  had  the  honor  of  meeting  you?"  said 
Felix;  "but,  madame,  I  did  not  see  you." 

A  faint  smile  lighted  up  la  Peyrade's  lips. 

"You  saw  me  sufficiently  well  to  ask  my  confidence  as  to 
where  I  found  you  ;  but  at  least  I  did  not  go  further  than  to  say 
that  I  had  seen  you  with  Father  Anselrae  sometimes,  and  that 
you  had  some  scientific  relations  with  each  other ;  and  also 
that  you  defended  your  doubts  against  his  arguments  the 
same  as  you  do  with  Celeste." 

"Father  Anselme  !  "  said  the  stupid  Phellion. 

"Yes,  without  doubt,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "a  great  mathe- 
matician who  does  not  despair  of  converting  you ;  Made- 
moiselle Celeste  has  shed  tears  of  joy." 

Felix  looked  around  with  an  air  of  bewilderment.  Ma- 
dame de  Godollo  looked  at  him  with  eyes  the  language  of 
which  a  poodle  would  have  understood. 

"  I  wish,"  said  he,  finally,  "  that  I  could  have  done  a  thing 
so  agreeable  to  Mademoiselle  Celeste,  but  I  am  afraid,  ma- 
dame, that  you  labor  under  an  error." 

"Listen  to  me,  monsieur,  it  seems  that  I  must  needs  be 
more  precise ;  and  if  your  timidity  prompts  you  to  continue 
denying  a  step  that  can  only  honor  you,  then  you  may  con- 
tradict me ;  I  must  bear  the  annoyance  of  having  divulged  a 
secret  which  I  had  promised  you  faithfully  to  keep." 

Measuring  each  word,  she  said  : 

"I  have  told  these  ladies,  because  I  know  how  they  wish 
your  salvation,  and  because  you  were  accused  of  audaciously 
defying  God's  commandments  by  working  on  Sunday,  that  I 
had  met  you  this  morning  at  Father  Anselme's  house,  a  scien- 


262  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

tist  like  yourself,  with  whom  you  were  engaged  in  solving  a 
problem  ;  I  said  that  this  had  led  up  to  -other  explanations 
between  you,  and  that  he  did  not  despair  of  refuting  your 
arguments.  In  confirming  my  words,  there  can  be  nothing 
to  wound  your  self-esteem.  It  was  only  intended  as  a  sur- 
prise for  Celeste,  but  I  was  so  stupid  as  to  divulge  it." 

"Come,  monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "there's  nothing 
ridiculous  in  searching  for  the  light ;  you,  so  honorable,  such 
a  foe  to  untruth,  can  scarcely  deny  what  madame  so  reso- 
lutely affirms." 

**  Well,"  said  Felix,  after  a  slight  pause,  "will  you,  Made- 
moiselle Celeste,  permit  me  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  in 
private,  without  witnesses?" 

Celeste,  after  an  approving  nod  from  Mme.  Thuillier,  rose, 
and  Felix  took  her  hand  and  led  her  to  a  window  recess. 

"Celeste,"  he  said,  "I  beg  you  to  wait  a  little  longer. 
See,"  he  added,  pointing  to  the  constellation  of  the  chariot,* 
"  beyond  those  visible  stars,  there  lies  a  future  for  us.  As 
regards  what  has  been  said  about  Father  Ansel  me,  I  cannot 
admit  it,  for  it  is  not  true.  It  is  a  pleasing  story ;  but 
patience,  you  shall  hear  things " 

Celeste  left  him,  and  he  remained  gazing  at  the  stars. 

"  He  is  mad,"  said  the  young  girl  in  accents  of  despair,  as 
she  resumed  her  seat  by  Mme.  Thuillier. 

Felix  confirmed  this  prognostication  by  rushing  out  of  the 
room  without  perceiving  the  emotion  with  which  his  father 
followed  him. 

Shortly  after  this  exit,  which  had  stupefied  everybody,  la 
Peyrade  approached  Mine,  de  Godollo  and  respectfully  said  : 

"  You  must  admit,  madame,  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  draw 
a  man  out  of  the  water  when  he  is  intent  on  drowning " 

"  I  had  no  idea,"  replied  the  countess,  "  of  such  unpar- 
alleled simplicity;  it  is  too  silly  for  anything.  I  shall  go 
over  to  the  enemy,  and  with  that  enemy  I  am,  when  he 
*  Ur».  Majcr. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  263 

pleases,  ready  to  go  into  a  full  and  frank  explanation  in  my 
own  rooms." 

The  next  day  Theodose  felt  himself  possessed  by  two 
curiosities :  How  Celeste  would  behave  in  the  option  pre- 
sented for  her  acceptance  ?  Then  this  Comtesse  Torna  de 
Godollo,  what  did  she  mean  by  what  she  had  said  ;  and  what 
did  she  want  of  him? 

He  sent  his  porter  for  a  hack  and  about  three  o'clock 
drove  from  the  Rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer  toward  the 
fashionable  neighborhood  of  the  Madeleine.  His  toilet  was 
naturally  the  subject  of  some  thought,  and  presented  a  com- 
promise between  the  negligent  ease  of  morning  attire  and  the 
ceremonious  style  of  evening  dress.  Necessitated  by  his  pro- 
fession to  wear  a  white  cravat,  which  he  rarely  laid  aside,  and 
not  being  well-disposed  to  dispense  with  a  dress-coat,  he  felt 
drawn  to  one  of  the  extremes  he  was  desirous  of  avoiding. 
But  by  buttoning  his  coat  and  wearing  tan  instead  of  lemon- 
colored  kids  he  managed  to  "  unsolemnize "  himself,  and 
thus  avoided  the  provincial  and  poor-relation  aspect  which  a 
man  in  full  dress  always  conveys  to  the  mind  when  seen  on 
the  streets  of  Paris. 

Arrived  he  rang  the  bell,  and  after  some  little  delay  was 
ushered  into  a  severely  luxurious  dining-room,  where  he  was 
requested  to  wait.  A  minute  later  the  attendant  returned  and 
he  was  admitted  into  a  most  coquettish  and  splendid  salon. 
The  divinity  of  the  place  sat  before  a  table  covered  with 
Venetian  cloth,  in  which  gold  thread  sparkled  among  the 
rich  embroidery.  As  la  Peyrade  went  in  the  countess  bowed 
without  rising. 

"Will  monsieur  allow  me  to  seal  a  letter  of  some  im- 
portance ?  "  said  the  comtesse. 

The  barrister  made  a  bow  of  assent ;  the  handsome  foreigner 
then  took  from  a  tortoise-shell  inlaid  desk  a  sheet  of  blue-tint 
English  paper  which  she  placed  in  an  envelope  ;  after  she  had 
written  the  address,  she  rose  and  rang  the  bell.     The  maid 


264  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

appeared  and  lighted  a  small  spirit  lamp  ;  over  the  lamp  was 
hung  a  silver-gilt  crucible-shaped  vessel,  in  which  was  a  scrap 
of  scented  sealing-wax ;  as  soon  as  the  flame  had  melted  this 
the  maid  poured  it  on  the  envelope  and  handed  her  mistress 
an  armorial  seal.  This  she  impressed  with  her  own  fair  hands 
on  the  wax,  and  said:   "  Take  it  at  once  to  that  address." 

As  the  woman  made  a  movement  to  take  the  letter  she 
inadvertently  let  it  fall,  near  to  la  Peyrade's  feet,  who  made  a 
quick  movement  to  pick  it  up  and  read  thereon:  "  M.  the 
Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs,"  added  below  being:  "For  him 
only." 

"  Thanks,  monsieur,"  said  the  countess,  for  he  had  the  good 
sense  to  return  it  to  her.  "Be  so  good,  mademoiselle,  as 
not  to  lose  it,"  she  added  severely  to  the  maid. 

The  countess  then  left  the  table  and  took  her  seat  on  a 
lounge  covered  with  pearl  gray  satin.  You  may  say  that  you 
cannot  know  all  a  woman's  perfections  unless  you  have  seen 
her  in  the  prismatic  atmosphere  of  her  own  drawing-room ; 
but  guard  against  pretending  to  judge  and  know  her  if  you 
have  never  seen  her  anywhere  else. 

"Monsieur,"  said  she,  with  a  smile  and  a  slightly  foreign 
accent  which  gave  an  added  charm  to  her  words,  "  I  cannot 
help  thinking  what  a  queer  thing  it  is  that  a  man  of  your 
spirit  and  rare  penetration  should  have  an  idea  that  you  had 
an  enemy  in  me." 

"But,  Madame  la  Comtesse,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  allowing 
her  to  read  in  his  eyes  the  astonishment  he  felt,  not  unmingled 
with  distrust,  "  you  will  admit  that  every  appearance  was  of 
that  nature.  A  rival  crops  up  when  I  was  already  justified  in 
considering  my  marriage  fully  settled ;  he  becomes  absolutely 
stupid  and  awkward  so  that  I  could  easily  have  set  him  aside, 
when  suddenly  a  most  unlooked-for  auxiliary  rushes  in  and 
assists  him  on  his  most  vulnerable  point." 

"What  a  great  misfortune  it  would  be,"  replied  the 
foreigner  with  charming   audacity,    "  if  your  marriage  with 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  J65 

mademoiselle  were  prevented.  Do  you  really  care  so  very 
much  for  that  schoolgirl?  " 

In  that  last  word  there  was  not  more  of  contempt  than 
hatred.  This  did  not  escape  an  observer  of  la  Peyradc's 
keeness.     But  he  only  went  on  to  say : 

"  Madame,  the  vulgar  expression  '  to  settle  down  '  sums  up 
the  situation,  where,  after  a  long-drawn  fight,  a  man  reaches 
the  end  of  his  illusions,  and  when  he  would  fain  compromise 
with  his  future.  Now,  when  this  end  is  presented  in  the  form 
of  a  young  girl  with  more  virtue  than  beauty,  I  won't  deny, 
but  one  who  brings  to  her  husband  the  fortune  so  indispensable 
to  the  welfare  of  conjugal  companionship,  why  it  should  ex- 
cite astonishment  that  his  heart  is  filled  with  gratitude  and 
that  he  should  eagerly  welcome  the  prospect  of  peaceful 
happiness  ?" 

"I  had  always  imagined,"  replied  the  countess,  "that  a 
man's  intelligence  and  power  should  be  the  measure  of  his 
ambition  ;  one,  I  should  think,  so  wise  as  to  make  himself  the 
poor  man's  advocate  would  have  less  modesty  and  fewer  pas- 
toral aspirations." 

"Ah!  madame,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "the  iron  hand  of 
necessity  makes  one  resign  himself,  it  forces  stranger  things 
upon  us  than  that ;  the  question  of  daily  bread  is  one  before 
which  everybody  debases  himself.  Apollo,  was  he  not  com- 
pelled to  'make  a  living'  by  tending  Admetus'  sheep?" 

"  Admetus'  sheep-fold,"  objected  Muie.  de  Godollo,  "was 
at  least  a  sheep-fold  of  royalty ;  but  certainly  Apollo  would 
never  have  submitted  to  become  the  shepherd  of  a — bour- 
geois." 

The  pause  which  preceded  the  last  word  of  the  handsome 
foreigner  seemed  to  convey  the  meaning  of  a  proper  name 
instead  of  the  one  used. 

"I  believe,  madame,  that  your  distinction  is  not  less  true 
than  subtle,"  answered  la  Peyrade;  "but  Apollo  has  no 
choice." 


266  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"I  don't  like  people  who  charge  too  much,"  said  the 
countess,  "neither  do  I  like  those  who  sell  their  goods  below 
the  market  price,  I  am  always  afraid  lest  they  should  make  me 
the  victim  of  some  knavish  trick.  You  well  know  your  own 
value,  monsieur,  and  your  hypocritical  humility  annoys  me 
immensely;  it  shows  me  that  my  kindly  overtures  have  not 
even  produced  the  beginning  of  confidence  between  us." 

"I  assure  you,  madame,  that  up  to  now  my  life  has  not 
given  me  any  reason  to  think  myself  possessed  of  dazzling 
superiority." 

"Well,"  said  the  Hungarian,  "perhaps  I  ought  to  admit 
the  modesty  of  the  man  who  will  accept  the  pitiable  finale  of 
his  life  which  I  have  intended  to  do  my  best  to  prevent." 

"  So,  perhaps,  as  I  myself,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "might 
believe  in  that  benevolence  which  in  order  to  rescue  me  has 
treated  me  so  roughly." 

The  countess  threw  a  reproachful  glance  at  her  guest ;  her 
hands  toyed  with  the  ribbons  of  her  dress ;  she  cast  down  her 
eyes  and  allowed  a  sigh  to  escape  her,  so  faint  as  to  be  scarcely 
perceptible,  so  slight  in  fact  that  it  might  have  passed  as  her 
regular  breathing, 

"You  are  rancorous,"  said  she,  "and  judge  people  by 
yourself.  After  all,"  she  added,  as  if  in  reflection,  "  you  may 
possibly  be  right  in  reminding  me  that  I  have  gone  a  long  and 
roundabout  way  in  meddling  in  interests  that  are  none  of  my 
concern.  Go  on,  dear  monsieur,  and  prosper  in  this  so  glo- 
rious marriage  which  offers  you  such  a  combination  of  in- 
ducements ;  only  let  me  hope  that  you  may  never  repent  your 
course,  which  I  will  no  longer  try  to  postpone." 

The  Provencal  had  not  been  spoilt  by  women.  The  poverty 
against  which  he  had  been  so  long  struggling  never  leads  to 
affairs  of  gallantry,  and,  since  he  had  thrown  off  its  worst 
clutches,  his  mind  had  been  given  up  to  the  anxious  work  of 
providing  for  his  future  ;  with  the  exception  of  the  farce  played 
with  Mme.  Colleville,  he  had  never  had  an  affair  of  the  heart 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  967 

during  his  whole  life.  We  can  thus  understand  the  perplexity 
of  this  novice.  Like  all  overbusy  men  when  they  are  goaded 
by  the  demon  of  lust,  he  was  content  to  accept  the  ignoble 
love  that  any  night  can  be  bought  at  corner  crossings,  and 
that  is  easily  reconciled  with  the  exterior  of  devotion. 

Suppose  this  kindness,  but  poorly  explained  as  it  seemed  to 
him,  of  which  he  had  so  suddenly  become  the  object  was  but 
a  bait  to  entice  him  toward  a  snare  which  might  be  used  to 
compromise  him  with  the  Thuilliers,  what  a  blow  at  his  sup- 
posed shrewdness,  what  a  part  to  play ;  that  of  the  dog  drop- 
ping the  meat  to  grasp  the  shadow. 

We  know  that  la  Peyrade  was  something  after  the  school  of 
Tartuffe,  and  the  frankness  which  that  master  declares  to 
Elmire  that  unless  a  few  of  the  promised  favors  are  granted 
he  could  no  longer  trust  her  tender  advances,  seemed  almost 
adapted  to  the  occasion,  though  there  was  more  softness  in  its 
form. 

"  Madame  la  Comtesse,"  said  he,  "you  have  made  of  me  a 
man  who  is  much  to  be  pitied  ;  I  was  marching  gayly  to  this 
marriage,  and  you  take  from  me  all  my  faith ;  and  yet,  what 
if  I  break  it  off,  what  can  I,  with  that  great  capacity  you 
credit  me  with,  do  with  the  liberty  thus  acquired  ?" 

"La  Bruy^re  has  said,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  that  nothing 
so  refreshes  the  blood  as  to  avoid  committing  a  folly." 

"  I  grant  that ;  but  that  is  a  negative  benefit ;  I  am  of  an 
age  and  in  such  a  position  as  to  desire  more  serious  results. 
The  interest  you  show  in  me  cannot,  I  imagine,  end  at  leaving 
a  blank  page.  I  love  mademoiselle  with  a  love,  not,  it  is 
true,  with  an  imperative,  dominating  passion,  but  still  I  do 
love  her,  her  hand  is  promised  to  me,  and  before  renoun- 
cing  " 

"So,"  said  the  countess,  briskly,  "in  a  given  case  you 
would  not  object  to  a  rupture?  And,"  added  she,  in  a  calmer 
tone,  "  you  might  be  ready  to  break  it  off;  that  is,  in  case  a 
more  suitable  marriage  were  to  offer?" 


268  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"At  the  very  least,  madame,  I  should  want  to  definitely 
foresee  this." 

This  determination  to  be  on  the  safe  side  appeared  to  annoy 
the  countess. 

"Faith,  monsieur,"  said  she,  "is  only  a  virtue  when  it 
accepts  without  seeing.  You  doubt  yourself,  another  form  of 
stupidity.     I  am  not  happy  in  my  proteges.'' 

"But,  madame,  it  cannot  be  very  indiscreet  to  ask  for 
the  least  intimation  of  what  your  benevolence  has  designed 
forme?" 

"Very  indiscreet,"  replied  the  Hungarian,  coldly,  "for  it 
shows  me  that  you  only  offer  me  a  confidence  on  conditions. 
Say  no  more.  You  have  gone  far  with  Mademoiselle  Colle- 
ville ;  you  say  she  suits  you  in  many  things,  marry  her ;  one 
more  attack,  you  won't  again  find  me  in  your  way." 

"  But  does  mademoiselle  really  suit  me  ?  "  replied  la  Pey- 
rade ;  "  that  is  exactly  where  you  have  raised  my  doubts. 
Don't  you  think  you  are  cruel  in  casting  me  first  in  one 
direction  and  then  in  another  without  offering  anything  to 
support  me?" 

"Ah!  you  want  my  opinion ;  well,  there  is  one  fact:  Ce- 
leste does  not  love  you." 

"I  think  myself,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  that  I  am  on  the  way 
to  a  marriage  of  convenience." 

"And  she  cannot  love  you,"  continued  Mme.  de  Godollo, 
with  animation,  "  for  she  cannot  understand  you.  The  man 
who  should  be  her  husband  is  that  blonde  young  man,  as  shy 
and  pale-faced  as  herself;  the  contact  of  these  two  natures 
without  life  and  heat  will  result  in  that  lukewarm  duet  which 
in  the  opinion  of  the  world  in  which  she  was  born  constitutes 
the  tie  plus  ultra  of  conjugal  felicity.  Enriched  bourgeois, 
parvenus,  there's  the  roof  under  which  you  intend  resting  after 
your  hard  labors  and  long  trials.  And  don't  you  know  that 
twenty  times  a  day  they  will  make  it  manifest  to  you  that  your 
share  in  the  partnership  is  very  light  against  their  money? 


BUT    DOES    MADEMOISELLE    REALLY    SUIT    ME?' 
REPLIED    LA    PEYRADE. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  869 

The  artist,  the  man  of  imagination,  who  tumbles  into  the 
middle-class  atmosphere,  shall  I  tell  you  to  what  I  compare 
hifti  ?  To  Daniel  cast  into  the  den  of  lions,  less  the  miracle 
of  the  Scriptures." 

"Ah,  madame  !  "  exclaimed  la  Peyrade,  "  how  eloquently 
you  present  the  thoughts  that  have  been  mine  so  often.  But 
I  felt  lashed  to  the  cruel  necessity  of  gaining  a  position." 

"  Necessity,  position !  "  interrupted  the  countess,  again 
elevating  the  temperature  of  her  words,  "  words  without 
meaning  !  They  have  no  sound  to  men  of  ability,  though 
they  bar  fools  as  though  they  were  formidable  obstacles. 
Necessity,  does  that  exist  for  noble  natures  who  know  how  to 
will  ?  A  Gascon  minister  said  these  words,  which  should  be 
graven  over  every  door  of  all  careers :  '  All  things  come  to 
him  who  knows  how  to  wait.'  Are  you  ignorant  that  mar- 
riage to  men  of  superior  stamp  is  either  a  chain  which  rivets 
them  to  the  most  vulgar  of  existences,  or  a  wing  that  bears 
them  to  the  highest  summits  of  the  social  world  ?  The  wife 
you  need,  monsieur,  and  she  would  not  be  long  lacking  in 
your  career  if  you  had  not  with  such  incredible  haste  offered 
yourself  to  the  first  fortune  which  turned  up.  The  one  you 
should  have  chosen  is  a  woman  capable  of  understanding  you, 
able  to  read  you  ;  one  who  would  be  a  collaborator,  an  in- 
telligent confidant,  not  a  mere  incarnation  oi pot-au-feu ;  who 
to-day  is  your  secretary,  but  to-morrow  may  be  the  true  wife 
of  a  deputy  or  an  ambassador  ;  in  short,  one  who  could  offer 
you  her  heart  for  a  mainspring,  her  salon  for  a  stage,  her 
friends  for  a  ladder,  and  who  in  return  for  all  you  gave  of 
ardor  and  strength  would  ask  no  more  than  to  sit  near  your 
throne  in  the  glare  of  the  prosperity  and  glory  that  she  fore- 
saw would  be  your  lot." 

Intoxicated  by  her  own  words  the  Hungarian  was  magnifi- 
cent, her  eyes  sparkled,  her  notrils  dilated  ;  the  perspective 
her  vivid  eloquence  had  unfurled  she  appeared  to  see,  to 
touch  with  her  hands.     For  a  moment  la  Peyrade  was  daz- 


270  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

zled  with  this  kind  of  sunrise  which  burst  suddenly  upon  his 
life. 

All  the  same,  he  was  an  eminently  prudent  man,  who  had 
made  it  a  rule  to  never  lend  anything  except  on  the  soundest 
security ;  he  was  impelled  to  still  weigh  the  situation. 

*'  Madame  la  Comtesse,"  said  he,  "  you  just  now  reproached 
me  with  speaking  like  a  bourgeois,  and  I,  in  turn,  fear  that 
you  talk  like  a  goddess.  I  admire  you,  I  listen  to  you,  but  I 
am  not  convinced.  These  devotions,  these  sublime  abnega- 
tions, are  perhaps  met  with  in  heaven  ;  but  on  our  earth  who 
may  boast  that  he  has  seen  them?" 

"  You  are  mistaken,  monsieur,"  said  the  countess,  solemnly, 
"  such  cases  are  rare,  but  neither  impossible  nor  incredible  ; 
the  fault  is  only  in  not  having  the  skill  to  find  and  the  hand 
to  grasp  them  when  offered  to  you." 

So  saying  she  majestically  rose. 

La  Peyrade  comprehended  that  he  had  ended  by  displeas- 
ing her ;  he  felt  that  she  dismissed  him  ;  he  rose  in  his  turn, 
bowed  respectfully,  and  begged  to  be  allowed  to  call  again. 

"  Monsieur,"  replied  Mme.  de  Godollo,  "  among  we  Hun- 
garians, a  primitive  people  and  almost  savages,  when  a  door 
is  open,  both  leaves  are  opened  ;  but  when  it  is  closed,  it  is 
double-locked." 

This  dignified  and  ambiguous  response  was  accompanied 
by  an  inclination  of  the  head.  Bewildered,  confounded  by 
this  behavior,  which  was  so  new  to  him,  which  bore  little 
resemblance  to  that  of  Flavie,  Brigitte,  and  Mme.  Minard, 
he  went  away  asking  himself  if  he  had  played  his  game 
aright. 

On  leaving  Mme.  de  Godollo,  la  Peyrade  felt  that  he  must 
have  time  to  think.  What  could  he  see  beneath  the  conver- 
sation, a  springe  or  a  rich  wife  offered  to  him  ?  Under  such 
a  doubt,  to  press  Celeste  for  an  immediate  answer  was  neither 
wise  nor  prudent.  Consequently,  in  lieu  of  going  to  the 
Thuilliers  he  went  home  and  wrote  the  following  note  : 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  271 

My  Dear  Thuillier  : 

I  daresay  you  will  not  think  it  strange  that  I  have  not  presented  myself 
at  your  house  to-day ;  partly  because  I  dread  the  sentence  and  because  I 
do  not  care  to  be  taken  for  an  impatient,  ill-bred  creditor.  A  few  days, 
more  or  less,  will  matter  little  under  the  circumstances,  and  yet  Mile. 
Colleville  may  find  them  desirable  as  giving  her  entire  freedom  of  choice. 
I  shall  not  call,  therefore,  until  you  write  me.  I  am  now  calmer,  and  I 
have  added  a  few  more  pages  to  our  manuscript;  it  needs  but  little  more 
to  be  ready  for  the  printer.     Ever  yours, 

THfeODOSE  DE  LA  PeYRADE. 

Two  hours  later  a  servant  dressed  in  what  was  evidently  the 
first  transition  toward  a  livery,  the  "male"  servant  spoken 
of  by  Minard,  which  as  yet  the  Thuilliers  did  not  wish  to 
risk,  brought  la  Peyrade  this  answer : 

Come  this  evening  without  fail ;  we  will  talk  the  whole  affair  over  with 
Brigitte. 

Your  most  affectionately  devoted, 

JfeRoME  Thuillier. 

"Good,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "there  is  a  hitch  somewhere; 
I  shall  have  time  to  turn  myself  around." 

When  he  arrived,  and  after  talking  of  the  weather  and  so 
forth,  as  people  do  who  have  met  to  discuss  a  delicate  subject 
about  which  they  are  not  sure  of  coming  to  an  understanding, 
the  matter  was  brought  up  by  Brigitte,  who  had  sent  out  her 
brother  to  take  his  walk  on  the  boulevards,  telling  him  to 
leave  her  to  manage  the  business. 

"  My  dear  boy,"  said  Brigitte,  "  it  was  a  gentlemanly  thing 
of  you  not  to  come  here  to-day  like  a  'grab-all,'  to  put  your 
pistol  to  our  throats,  for  we  are  not,  as  it  happens,  quite  ready 
to  answer  you.  I  really  think,"  she  added,  "that  Celeste 
needs  a  little  more  time." 

"  So,"  said  la  Peyrade,  quickly,  "she  has  not  then  decided 
in  favor  of  Monsieur  Felix  Phellion?  " 

"Rogue!"  replied  the  old  maid,  "you   fixed,  ^hat  last 


2t«  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

night  j  but  you  know,  also,  that  she  inclines  a  little  to  that 
side." 

"Well,  how  does  Celeste  take  the  matter?  Has  she  re- 
fused me  ?  " 

"It  is  much  worse  than  that.  She  accepts  you,  saying 
that  she  had  given  her  word ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  she 
looks  upon  herself  as  a  victim.  If  I  were  in  your  place,  I 
should  not  consider  my  success  either  assuring  or  flattering." 

In  any  other  state  of  mind,  la  Peyrade  would  have  answered 
that  he  accepted  the  sacrifice  and  would  make  it  his  business 
to  win  her  heart,  which,  for  the  moment,  had  been  given  so 
reluctantly  ;  but  delay  better  suited  his  end. 

"  What  is  your  advice?  "  he  asked  Brigitte. 
•     "For  the  first   thing,"  said  Brigitte,  "  I  would  .finish  the 
pamphlet  of  Thuillier's,   he  is  going  crazy  for  it,  and  leave 
me  to  work  your  interests,"  replied  Brigitte. 

"But  if  I  am  not  in  friendly  hands?  for,  little  aunt,  I  could 
not  help  seeing  that  you  have  changed  somewhat  in  your 
feelings  toward  me." 

"  I  am  changed  toward  you !  and  in  what  do  you  see  me 
changed,  you  dreamer?" 

"Oh!  in  little  things,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "but  it  is  sure 
that  since  the  introduction  here  of  this  Countess  Torna " 

"My  poor  boy,  the  Hungarian  has  been  of  much  service  to 
me,  I  must  acknowledge  that ;  but  is  that  any  reason  why  I 
should  be  false  to  you,  you  who  have  done  us  much  greater 
services?" 

"Still,"  said  the  crafty  la  Peyrade,  "you  know  that  she 
has  spoken  much  that  is  bad  about  me?" 

"That's  the  simplest  matter,  whatever  she  may  have  said; 
those  fine  ladies  expect  the  whole  world  to  adore  them,  and 
she  knows  that  your  head  is  full  of  Celeste ;  but  all  she  has 
said  about  you  runs  off  me  like  water  off  oilcloth." 

"So,  little  aunt,"  asked  la  Peyrade,  "I  am  to  count  on 
you?" 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  273 

**Yes  J  if  you  don't  torment  me  and  allow  me  to  manage 
matters." 

"Well,  tell  me,  then,  what  you  intend  doing,"  said  la 
Peyrade,  with  an  air  of  jolly  good-humor. 

"First,  I  shall  forbid  Felix  the  house." 

"  Is  that  possible?  "  said  the  barrister,  "  or  is  it  the  least  bit 
civil?" 

"Very  possible,  and  I  shall  make  Phellion  himself  tell  him. 
As  he  makes  a  hobby-horse  of  his  principles,  he'll  see  that  if 
his  son  won't  do  what  is  necessary  to  win  the  hand  of  Celeste, 
that  he  ought  to  deprive  us  of  his  presence." 

"And  afterward?  "  said  la  Peyrade. 

"Afterward  I  shall  signify  to  Celeste  that  as  she  was  allowed 
the  liberty  of  choosing  a  husband  from  one  or  the  other,  and, 
as  she  did  not  choose  Felix,  she  must  put  up  with  you,  who 
are  such  a  pious  fellow,  such  as  she  wants.  You  be  easy  ;  I'll 
make  the  best  of  you,  especially  your  generosity  in  not  press- 
ing your  attentions  when  you  might  have  profited  thereby. 
But  that  will  take  quite  a  week,  and  if  Thuillier's  pamphlet 
is  not  finished  by  then,  I  don't  know  but  what  we  shall  be 
obliged  to  send  him  to  Charenton." 

"  In  two  days  the  pamphlet  can  be  ready ;  but  are  we  quite 
sure,  little  aunt,  that  you  are  playing  a  square  game?  The 
saying  is  that  mountains  cannot  meet,  but  men  do ;  and,  cer- 
tainly, when  the  time  for  election  comes,  I  can  do  Thuillier 
good  or  bad  service.  The  other  day,  do  you  know,  I  had  a 
terrible  fright.  I  had  about  me  a  letter  in  which  he  spoke  of  the 
pamphlet  as  being  written  by  me.  I  thought  for  a  moment 
that  I  had  lost  that  letter  at  the  Luxembourg.  If  I  had,  what 
a  scandal  there  would  have  been  in  the  quarter." 

"  Is  there  any  one  who  would  care  to  play  tricks  on  such  a 
sly  fellow  as  you?"  said  the  old  maid,  quite  understanding 
the  covert  threat  implied.  "But,  really,"  added  she,  "why 
should  you  find  fault  with  us?  Is  it  not  yourself  that  is  be- 
hindhand with  your  promises  ?  That  Cross  which  was  to  be 
18 


274  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

given  within  a  week,  that  pamphlet  that  should  have  been  out 
long  ago  ? ' ' 

"  The  pamphlet  and  the  Cross  will  each  bring  the  other," 
replied  la  Peyrade,  rising.  "  Tell  Thuillier  to  come  and  see 
me  to-morrow  evening.  I  think  by  then  we  can  correct  the 
last  sheet.  But  don't  lend  an  ear  to  the  machinations  of 
Madame  de  Godollo ;  I  have  an  idea  that  she  designs  to  make 
herself  the  entire  mistress  of  this  house ;  she  wants  to  alienate 
all  your  friends,  and  in  the  meantime  to  appropriate  Thuil- 
lier." 

"In  fact,"  said  the  old  maid,  whom  the  infernal  barrister 
had  touched  in  a  tender  spot,  the  love  of  authority,  "  I  must 
see  into  this;  she  is  a  little  coquette,  that  little  madame." 

Four  days  later  the  printer,  the  stitcher,  and  the  hot-presser 
had  done  their  work ;  Thuillier,  in  the  evening,  could  give 
himself  the  inexpressible  honor  of  commencing  a  walk  on  the 
boulevards,  which  he  continued  through  the  passages  of  the 
Palais-Royal,  pausing  before  every  bookstore  window  to  steal 
a  glance  at  a  yellow  poster,  shining  in  black  letters,  with  the 
famous  title : 

DE  L'IMPOT  ET  DE    A.MORTISSEMENT. 

Par  J.  Thuillier, 

Membre  du  conseil  general  de  la  Seine. 

Having  managed  to  persuade  himself  that  the  care  he  had 
given  to  the  proof-reading  and  revising  had  the  merit  of 
making  the  work  his  own,  his  paternal  heart,  like  that  of  the 
Maltre  Corbeau,  could  not  hold  itself  for  joy.  It  should  be 
added  that  he  had  but  little  opinion  of  those  booksellers  who 
did  not  announce  this  latest  new  work  for  sale,  destined,  as  he 
fondly  believed,  to  be  a  European  event.  Without  really  being 
able  to  see  how  he  could  punish  them  for  their  indifference, 
he  nevertheless  made  a  list  of  these  recalcitrant  persons,  and 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  275 

wished  them  all  possible  evils,  as  though  it  were  a  personal 
affront. 

The  next  day  he  spent  in  the  delightful  occupation  of  ad- 
dressing a  number  of  presentations,  wrapping  up  fifty  sample 
copies  to  which  the  inscription:  "From  the  author,"  com- 
municated an  inestimable  prize. 

But  the  third  day  of  the  sale  brought  his  happiness  a  check. 
He  had  chosen  for  his  publisher  a  young  man,  who,  rushing 
his  business  at  a  break -rieck  pace,  had  lately  established  him- 
self in  the  Passages  des  Panoramas,  where  he  paid  a  ruinous 
rent.  A  nephew  of  Barbet,  the  publisher,  whom  Brigitte  had 
for  a  tenant  in  her  old  house  ;  he  flinched  at  nothing,  and 
when  his  uncle  recommended  him  to  Thuillier,  he  was  as- 
sured that  unless  he  was  restricted  in  the  advertising  that  he 
would  sell  the  first  edition  and  print  another  within  a  week. 

Now  Thuillier  had  spent  about  fifteen  hundred  francs  for 
advertising;  such  as  sending  a  profusion  of  copies  to  the 
journals,  and,  after  three  days  had  gone  by,  only  seven  copies' 
had  been  sold,  and  three  of  these  on  credit.  It  might  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  young  publisher  would  have  lost  some  of  his 
assurance  with  this;  but,  to  the  contrary,  this  Guzman  of  the 
book-trade  said : 

"  I  am  delighted  at  what  has  happened.  If  we  had  sold  a 
hundred  copies  I  should  be  very  uneasy  as  to  the  fifteen  hun- 
dred we  have  printed  ;  I  call  this  hanging  fire,  whereas  this 
paltry  sale  goes  to  prove  that  the  edition  will  go  off  with  a 
bang." 

"Then  you  don't  think  that  the  sale  is  hopeless?"  said 
Thuillier. 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  take  a  most  favorable  view  of  this.  As 
soon  as  the  'Debats,'  the  Constitutionnel,'  the  'Sidcle,'  and 
the  *  Press '  have  reviewed  it,  especially  if  it  gets  '  hammered ' 
by  the  'Debats,'  which  is  ministerial,  it  will  go." 

"You  rattle  that  off  right  easily,"  replied  Thuillier,  "but 
how  shall  we  get  hold  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  press  ?  " 


276  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Leave  that  to  me,"  said  Barbet,  "I  am  on  the  best  of 
terms  with  the  chief  editors ;  they  say  the  devil  is  in  me  and 
that  I  remind  them  of  Ladvocat  in  his  best  days." 

"Then,  my  dear  boy,  you  ought  to  have  seen  to  this  be- 
fore." 

"Ah  !  but  permit  me,  Papa  Thuillier,  there's  only  one  way 
of  *  seeing '  a  newspaper-man  ;  as  you  grumbled  about  the 
fifteen  hundred  francs,  I  didn't  want  to  suggest  another  ex- 
pense to  you." 

"  Expense  for  what  ?  " 

"When  you  were  nominated  for  the  Council,"  replied  the 
book-seller,  "where  was  your  election  planned?" 

'^Parbleuf  in  my  home,"  answered  Thuillier. 

"At  your  home,  without  doubt,  but  at  a  dinner  followed 
by  a  ball  and  the  ball  followed  by  a  supper.  Well,  my  dear 
master,  there  are  not  two  ways  to  do  this  business ;  Boileau 
says: 

" '  We  govern  our  times  the  best  with  our  dinners, 

It's  by  dining  alone  that  we  keep  check  on  our  sinners.' " 

"  But  that  costs  money ;  journalists  are  all  a  lot  of  gour- 
mands." 

"  Pshaw  !  twenty  francs  per  head,  without  the  wine.  Given, 
say,  ten  of  them,  with  a  hundred  crowns  you  could  do  it 
fine." 

"How  you  talk,  young  man,"  said  Thuillier. 

''Dame,  everybody  knows  that  it  costs  to  get  a  nomination, 
and  you  will  thus  prepare  for  it." 

"But  how  shall  I  invite  these  gentlemen  ?  Must  I  go  and 
invite  them  myself?" 

"  Not  at  all ;  you  have  sent  them  your  pamphlet,  now  you 
beg  them  to  meet  you  at  Philippe's  or  Vdfour's  ;  they'll  catch 
on  all  right." 

"Ten  guests,"  said  Thuillier,  entering,  into  the  idea,  "I 
did  not  know  there  were  so  many  important  journalists  ?  " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  Ill 

"Quite  true,"  replied  the  publisher,  "but  we  must  have 
the  curs,  for  they  bark  the  loudest.  The  breakfast  is  sure  to 
be  well  talked  about ;  they  will  think  you  have  been  picking 
and  choosing,  and  each  one  left  out  would  become  your 
enemy." 

"If  I  were  sure  that  this  expense  would  have  the  desired 
effect,"  said  Thuillier,  with  indecision. 

'' If  I  were  sure  is  very  pretty,"  said  Barbet,  with  impor- 
tance ;  "but,  my  dear  master,  this  is  money  placed  on  mort- 
gage ;  with  that  I  can  guarantee  you  selling  the  fifteen  hun- 
dred copies.  That  at  forty  sous,  and  allowing  the  discounts, 
makes  three  thousand  francs.  You  see  that  covers  your  costs 
and  extras — more  than  covers  them." 

"So  !  I'll  talk  it  over  with  la  Peyrade,"  said  Thuillier  as 
he  went  out. 

"As  you  will,  dear  master,  but  decide  quickly,  for  nothing 
gets  mildewed  so  soon  as  a  book  \  write  hot,  serve  hot,  sell  it 
hot ;  that's  the  rule  of  three  for  authors,  publishers,  and  the 
public ;  outside  of  that  everything  falls  flat,  and  is  no  good  to 
touch." 

When  la  Peyrade  was  consulted  he  di4  not  really  think  so 
much  of  the  plan ;  but  now  he  had  begun  to  feel  the  bitterest 
animosity  against  Thuillier,  so  he  was  quite  delighted  to  see 
this  new  tax  levied  on  his  self-conceit,  inexperience,  and 
pomposity. 

Now  Thuillier's  mania  for  posing  as  a  statesman  decided 
him  on  following  Barbet's  advice.  He  called  upon  him  there- 
fore for  the  list  of  guests.  Barbet  gayly  produced  his  little 
catalogue.  Fifteen  instead  of  the  original  number  were  down, 
without  counting  himself  or  la  Peyrade,  whom  Thuillier  felt  he 
should  need  in  encountering  a  crowd  of  men  with  whom  he 
had  reason  to  think  he  would  be  out  of  place.  When  Thuillier 
had  cast  his  eyes  over  the  paper : 

"  Ah,  there  !  my  dear  boy,"  said  he  to  the  publisher,  "  you 
have  given  me  the  names  of  journals  that  I  never  even  heard 


278  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

tell  of.  What  is  this  '  Moralisateur,'  that  'Lanterne,'  the 
*  Diogene,'  or  the  '  Pelican,'  and  that  '  Echo  de  la  Bievre  ?  '  " 

"You  do  well,"  replied  Barbet,  "  to  fall  foul  of  *  Echo  de 
la  Bievre,'  a  paper  printed  in  the  twelfth  arrondissement  and 
read  by  all  the  rich  tanners  in  the  quarter." 

"Well,  pass  that,  then  ;  but  the  '  Pelican?'  " 

**  The  '  Pelican  ? '  why  that  journal  is  on  every  dentist's 
waiting-room  table  ;  dentists  make  more  puffs  than  all  the  rest 
of  the  world ;  how  many  teeth  do  you  suppose  are  daily  drawn 
in  Paris?" 

"Oh!  bosh,"  said  Thuillier. 

Finally  the  list  was  finished  at  fourteen  guests  and  the  meet- 
ing appointed  at  Vefour's,  the  one  most  extensively  patron- 
ized by  the  bourgeoisie  and  provincials,  Barbet  arrived 
even  before  Thuillier,  wearing  a  cravat  so  enormous  as  to 
itself  become  a  feature  among  those  satirical  guests.  The 
publisher  had  taken  it  upon  himself  to  change  sundry  of  the 
dishes :  instead  of  having  the  champagne  served  in  the 
bourgeois  fashion  with  the  dessert,  he  ordered  it  placed  on 
the  table  at  the  commencement  of  the  repast,  properly  iced, 
together  with  a  few  dishes  of  shrimps,  of  which  the  amphi- 
tryon  had  not  thought. 

Thuillier,  who  gave  a  verbal  approval  to  these  changes,  was 
followed  by  la  Peyrade ;  then  a  long  pause  before  any  others 
appeared.  Breakfast  was  ordered  for  eleven,  but  at  a  quarter 
before  twelve  not  a  guest  had  come.  Barbet,  never  at  a  loss, 
made  the  crushing  remark  that  breakfasts  at  a  restaurant  were 
like  funerals,  when  eleven  meant  twelve.  As  a  fact,  just  before 
that  hour  two  goat-bearded  gentlemen  arrived,  exhaling  a 
strong  odor  of  the  smoking-room.  Thuillier  effusively 
thanked  them  for  the  "  honor  "  they  were  about  to  do  him  ; 
and  then  came  another  long  period  of  waiting.  At  one,  five 
only  of  the  invited  guests  had  arrived.  They  took  their 
places  at  table  ;  a  few  polite  speeches  reached  Thuillier's  ears 
as  to  the  **  immense  "  interest  the  publication  of  his  pamphlet 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  279 

had  excited,  but  this  failed  to  blind  him  to  the  fact  of  a  dis- 
mal failure.  Only  for  the  vivacity  of  the  publisher,  who  had 
seized  the  reins  dropped  by  his  patron,  gloomy  as  Hippolytus 
on  the  way  to  Mycenae,  nothing  could  have  equaled  the  de- 
pression and  the  icy  coldness  of  this  meeting. 

After  the  removal  of  the  oysters  the  champagne  and 
Chablis  had  begun  to  give  a  slight  rise  to  the  temperature 
when  a  youngster  in  a  cap  rushed  into  the  banqueting-room 
and  gave  Thuillier  a  most  unexpected  and  crushing  blow. 

**Boss,"  said  the  new-comer  to  Barbet — he  was  a  clerk  in 
the  bookseller's  store — "  we  are  done  for  !  The  police  have 
raided  us ;  a  commissary  and  two  men  have  come  to  seize 
monsieur's  pamphlet;  they  left  this  paper  with  me  for  you." 

**  See  what  this  says,  Monsieur  the  Barrister,"  said  Barbet 
as  he  handed  the  paper  to  la  Peyrade,  At  this  stroke  his 
habitual  assurance  paled  somewhat. 

"  A  summons  to  shortly  appear  before  the  Assize  Court," 
said  la  Peyrade,  after  reading  the  sheriff's  scrawl. 

Becoming  as  pale  as  death  : 

"  Then  didn't  you  fill  all  the  necessary  formalities  ?  "  asked 
Thuillier  in  a  choking  voice. 

"Oh!  This  is  not  a  question  of  formalities,"  replied  la 
Peyrade,  "  it  is  seized  as  illegal  printed  matter,  which  excites 
hatred  and  contempt  for  the  government.  You  will  find  at 
home,  my  poor  Thuillier,  a  similar  compliment  awaiting 
you." 

"But  this  must  be  treason,  then  !  "  said  Thuillier,  who  had 
completely  lost  his  head. 

''Dame!  my  dear  boy,  you  must  know  what  you  put  in  the 
pamphlet ;  for  my  part,  I  didn't  see  anything  bad  enough  to 
whip  a  cat  for." 

"There's  a  misunderstanding  somewhere,"  said  Barbet, 
recovering  a  little  courage.  "  It  will  be  all  explained,  the  result 
will  be  a  fine  cause  for  complaints  to  be  made,  is  not  that  so, 
gentlemen?" 


280  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  Waiter,  a  pen  and  ink,"  exclaimed  one  of  the  journalists 
thus  appealed  to. 

"You'll  have  time  enough  to  write  your  article,"  said  one 
of  his  colleagues;  "  wliat  has  a  bomb  in  common  with  this 
^/<r/  saufe  ? ' ' 

This  was  a  parody  on  a  famous  speech  of  Louis  XII.,  of 
Sweden,  whom  a  cannon-ball  interrupted  while  he  was  dic- 
tating to  his  secretary. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  Thuillier,  rising,  "  you  will  excuse  me; 
if,  as  Monsieur  Barbet  tl\inks,  it  is  all  a  mistake,  it  ought  to  be 
explained  immediately  :  I  shall  at  once,  with  your  permission, 
go  to  the  court.  La  Peyrade,"  added  he,  significantly,  **you 
will  not  refuse,  I  think,  to  accompany  me.  And  you,  my 
dear  publisher,  had  better  come  with  us." 

"  My  faith,  no  !  "  said  Barbet ;  "  when  I  breakfast  I  break- 
fast ;  if  the  police  have  blundered,  so  much  the  worse  for 
them." 

"  But  suppose  the  action  is  a  serious  one  ?  "  exclaimed  Thu- 
illier, greatly  agitated, 

"Well,  all  I  should  say,  which  is  perfectly  true,  that  I  had 
not  read  a  single  line  of  your  pamphlet.  There  is  only  one 
annoying  feature  about  it — those  damned  juries  hate  beards,  so 
if  I  am  to  appear  in  court  I  must  cut  mine  off." 

"  Come,  my  dear  amphitryon,  sit  down  again,"  said  the 
editor-in-chief  of  the  "Echo  de  la  Bidvre,"  "we'll  stand  by 
you ;  I  have  already  written  an  article  which  will  stir  up  all 
the  peat-hawkers,  and  that  is  a  power,  that  honorable  cor- 
poration." 

"No,  gentlemen,"  said  Thuillier,  "no,  a  man  like  me 
cannot  rest  a  single  half-hour  under  such  an  accusation.  Con- 
tinue without  us;  I  hope  soon  to  return  to  you.  La  Peyrade, 
are  you  coming?  " 

When  Thuillier  left  the  office  of  the  court  he  could  no  longer 
indulge  illusions.  He  was  under  a  most  serious  charge,  and  the 
severe  manner  in  which  he  had  been  received  made  him  under- 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  281 

stand  that  when  the  trial  came  on  he  would  be  treated  without 
leniency.  Then  he  turned,  as  is  the  manner  with  accomplices 
when  things  turn  out  wrongly,  upon  la  Peyrade  in  the  bitterest 
vituperations :  He  had  paid  no  attention  to  what  he  was 
writing ;  he  had  given  full  rein  to  his  stupid  ideas  on  Saint- 
Simonism ;  he  didn't  care  about  the  consequences ;  ^.f  wouldn't 
have  to  pay  the  fine  or  go  to  prison  !  Then,  when  la  Pey- 
rade said  the  case  did  not  seem  serious  to  him,  and  that  he 
looked  for  an  acquittal,  Thuillier  burst  furiously  upon  him  : 

''Certainly!  all  is  very  simple,"  replied  Thuillier,  "mon- 
sieur sees  nothing  in  it ;  all  you  can  see  is  a  chance  for  a  showy 
defense  ;  but  I  shan't  put  my  honor  and  fortune  in  the  hands 
of  one  of  your  ilk,  I  shall  take  some  great  barrister,  if  the 
case  comes  to  trial.  I've  had  about  enough  of  your  collabo- 
ration." 

Under  the  injustice  of  these  reproaches  la  Peyrade  felt  his 
anger  rising.  He  did  not  wish  to  come  to  an  open  rupture, 
so  he  left  him,  saying  that  he  forgave  him,  as  he  was  naturally 
so  excited.  He  would  wait  upon  him  in  the  evening,  when 
he  would  probably  be  calmer. 

Accordingly,  about  four  o'clock,  the  Provencal  called  at 
the  house  in  the  Place  de  la  Madeleine.  Thuillier  was  quieter, 
but  consternation,  frightful  despair,  had  taken  its  place.  As 
for  Brigitte,  she  had  no  mercy  in  her  speech  ;  her  bitter,  viru- 
lent abuse  was  quite  out  of  proportion  to  the  fault.  La  Pey- 
rade felt  that  all  was  lost  for  him  in  the  Thuillier  household, 
they  seemed  to  hail  with  joy  the  chance  for  throwing  him 
over.  On  an  ironical  illusion  by  Brigitte  to  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  decorated  his  friends,  he  rose  and  took  his  leave, 
without  their  making  an  effort  to  retain  him. 

After  walking  the  streets  for  a  little  while  his  indignation 
calmed  down  to  thoughts  of  Madame  de  Godollo.  To  have 
paid  her  another  visit  immediately  would  have  been  anything 
but  skillful,  but  a  sufficient  time  had  now  elapsed  to  prove  that 
he  was  the  master  of  himself.     So  he  turned  his  steps  back  to 


282  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

the  Boulevard  de  la  Madeleine,  and,  without  asking  if  the 
countess  was  at  home,  he  passed  the  lodge  as  if  he  was  return- 
ing to  the  Thuilliers,  and  rung  the  bell  of  the  entresol. 

As  before,  he  was  asked  to  wait  while  the  maid  notified  her 
mistress  ;  but  this  time  it  was  in  a  little  library.  He  waited 
long  and  wondered  at  the  meaning  of  the  delay ;  but  finally 
the  maid  reappeared  : 

"Madame  la  Comtesse,"  said  she,  "is  engaged  on  a  busi- 
ness matter.  Would  monsieur  be  so  kind  as  to  wait?  He 
might  amuse  himself  with  some  of  the  books,  as  she  would 
possibly  be  detained  for  some  time." 

He  did  not  open  any  of  the  rosewood  cases,  for  he  saw  on 
a  claw-footed  table  a  medley  of  books.  But  as  he  opened 
the  volumes,  one  after  another,  he  fancied  that  a  Tantalus' 
feast  was  before  him ;  one  book  was  in  English,  another 
German,  the  next  Russian,  and  one  he  found  with  crabbed 
Turkish  characters.  Was  this  a  polyglot  joke  that  she  had 
arranged  for  him  ? 

One  volume  at  length  arrested  his  attention.  The  binding, 
he  noticed,  unlike  those  of  the  other  books,  was  not  so  rich 
as  pretty.  It  lay  by  itself  on  a  corner  of  the  table.  It  was 
open,  the  back  upward,  and  the  edges  of  the  leaves  rested  on 
the  green  tablecloth  like  a  tent.  La  Peyrade  took  it  up,  when 
it  proved  to  be  a  volume  of  the  illustrated  edition  of  Scribe's 
works.  The  engraving  displayed  was  taken  from  a  scene 
at  the  Gymnase,  entitled  "The  Hatred  of  a  Woman." 
Few  but  know  the  story  and  the  conclusion  of  the  drama. 
The  principal  personage  is  a  young  widow  who  desperately 
pursues  a  young  man.  One  speech  is:  "There  are  some 
women  who  would  spit  on  the  dish  to  cause  disgust  and  pre- 
vent others  eating  of  it."  Hatred  pursues  the  unhappy 
one  everywhere.  Her  deviltries  make  him  to  nearly  lose 
his  reputation  and  do  prevent  his  making  a  wealthy  mar- 
riage; but  it  ends  by  her  giving  him  more  than  she  had 
deprived  him  of,  and  she  makes  him  her  husband. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  283 

If  it  was  chance  that  had  placed  this  volume  in  its  isolated 
position,  it  was  opened  at  the  precise  spot  which  seemed 
pertinent  to  what  had  passed  between  himself  and  the  countess 
— chance  is  at  at  times  adroit  and  clever.  As  he  thought  over 
this  enigma  the  sound  of  an  opening  door  reached  his  ear, 
and  he  detected  the  rather  drawling  voice  of  the  countess, 
who  was  accompanying  some  one  to  the  door. 

"I  may  say  then,"  said  the  voice  of  a  man,  "that  you 
promise  the  ambassadress  that  you  will  honor  the  ball  with 
your  presence  this  evening?  " 

"Yes,  commander,  if  my  somewhat  mitigated  headache 
will  permit." 

"  Au  revoir,  then,  my  most  adorable  lady,"  said  the  voice 
of  her  interlocutor.  Then  the  door  closed  and  silence  again 
reigned. 

The  title  of  commander  somewhat  reassured  la  Peyrade, 
for  it  is  not  in  common  used  to  young  fops.  He  was  curious 
enough  to  know  whom  this  person  might  be  that  had  so 
long  occupied  the  time  of  the  countess.  As  he  did  not 
hear  any  one  approaching  the  library  he  went  softly  toward 
the  window  and  carefully  opened  the  curtain,  prepared  to 
drop  it  immediately  if  any  sound  was  heard.  An  elegant 
coupe,  standing  in  waiting,  was  drawn  up  to  the  door.  A 
footman  in  dashing  livery  opened  the  door,  and  a  little, 
dandified  old  man,  with  a  brisk,  jaunty  movement,  stepped 
into  the  carriage,  being  rapidly  driven  away.  La  Peyrade 
had  opportunity  to  notice  that  his  breast  was  covered  with 
decorations.  This,  taken  in  connection  with  his  powdered 
hair,  gave  evidence  of  a  diplomatic  personage. 

La  Peyrade  had  returned  to  his  book  so  as  to  be  discovered 
reading,  when  the  maid  appeared  and  invited  him  to  follow 
her.  He  replaced  the  volume — not  in  the  place  in  which  he 
had  found  it — and  an  instant  later  was  in  the  presence  of  the 
countess.  Beside  her  on  the  couch  lay  a  gilt-edged  letter  in 
that  free,  large  writing  that  betrays  an  official  communication. 

X 


284  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

In  her  hand  was  a  crystal  bottle  with  a  gold  stopper,  from 
which  she  inhaled  the  odor  of  English  toilet  vinegar,  which 
permeated  the  room. 

"You  are  not  well,  madame?"  asked  la  Pcyrade,  with 
anxiety. 

"  Oh  !  it  is  nothing,"  said  the  foreigner,  "  but  a  headache  ; 
I  am  subject  to  them.  But  you,  monsieur,  where  have  you 
been  ?  I  despaired  of  seeing  you  again.  Have  you  some 
important  news  to  make  known  to  me  ?  The  date  of  your 
marriage  to  Mademoiselle  Colleville  must  be  sufficiently  neai 
that  you  may  now  state  it." 

This  opening  slightly  disconcerted  la  Peyrade. 

**  But,  madame,"  he  replied  almost  sharply,  '*  it  seems  to 
me  that  you  know  everything  that  transpires  in  the  Thuilliers' 
household,  you  must  therefore  well  know  that  the  event  of 
which  you  speak  is  not  even  a  probability." 

**  No,  I  give  you  my  word,  I  know  nothing.  I  have  strictly 
made  up  my  mind  to  take  no  further  interest  in  the  affair. 
Madame  Brigitte  speaks  of  everything  but  Celeste's  marriage." 

"  Well,  madame,  your  judgment  as  to  my  marriage  was 
certainly  correct." 

**  What  ?  "  said  the  countess,  eagerly,  "  Has  the  seizure  of 
the  pamphlet  happening  after  Thuillier's  failure  to  obtain  the 
Cross  led  to  a  rupture  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  ray  influence  in  the  Thuilliei 
establishment  rests  on  a  solid  foundation.  The  services  I 
have  rendered  mademoiselle  and  her  brother  quite  outweigh 
these  two  checks,  which  happily  are  not  irreparable." 

"You  think  so?"  interrupted  the  countess,  incredulously. 

"  Certainly,"  replied  la  Peyrade.  "  When  Madame  du 
Bruel  seriously  means  to  get  the  red  ribbon  she  can  do  it  in 
spite  of  all  the  obstacles  that  may  be  placed  in  her  way." 

The  countess  received  this  assurance  with  a  smile,  and 
shook  her  head. 

"  You  must  surely  forget  that  it  is  unusual  to  decorate  a 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  285 

man  who  is  under  a  summons  of  the  court.  It  betokens  a 
strong  feeling  against  Thuillier,  and  perhaps  against  yourself, 
too  ;  for  you  are  the  real  culprit.  The  law,  in  this  case,  does 
not  appear  to  have  acted  independently." 

La  Peyrade  looked  at  the  countess. 

"  I  must  confess,"  replied  he,  after  that  rapid  glance, 
**  that  I  have  vainly  tried  to  find  a  single  phrase  in  the  whole 
work  that  would  give  cause  for  its  seizure." 

"  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  King's  people  must  have  a 
vivid  imagination  to  find  anything  seditious  in  the  work," 
said  the  countess.  "And  this  proves  the  strength  of  the  under- 
ground power  which  thwarts  your  every  intention  in  favor  of 
that  excellent  Monsieur  Thuillier." 

"Is  it  that  you  know  our  secret  enemies  ?  "  said  la  Peyrade. 

"Perhaps,"  said  the  countess,  smiling  again. 

*' May  I  dare  to  venture  a  suspicion?"  asked  la  Peyrade, 
considerably  agitated. 

"  Speak,"  replied  Mme.  de  Godollo ;  "  I  won't  blame  you 
if  you  guess  aright." 

"Well,  madame,  our  enemies,  Thuillier's  and  mine,  are 
a  woman." 

"Even  so,"  said  the  countess.  "Know  you  how  many 
lines  of  handwriting  Richelieu  needed  before  hanging  a  man?" 

"Four,"  answered  la  Peyrade. 

"You  can  then  satisfy  yourself  that  a  pamphlet  of  two  hun- 
dred pages  can  easily  furnish  a — well  a,  say,  intriguing  woman 
with  ground  enough  for  prosecution." 

"I  cease  my  struggle,"  said  la  Peyrade.  Then,  assuming 
an  air  of  contrition  : 

"  My  God  !  madame,"  added  he,  "  you  must,  indeed,  hate 
me. 

"Not  to  the  extent  that  you  imagine,"  replied  the  coun- 
tess ;  "  but,  after  all,  suppose  that  I  did  ?  " 

"Ah,  madame,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I  should  then  be  the 
happiest  of  unfortunates ;    for  this  hate  would  be  to  me  a 


286  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

thousand  times  more  precious  than  your  indifference.  But 
you  hate  me  not.  Why  should  you  show  to  me  that  blessed 
feminine  sentiment  which  is  described  by  Scribe  with  such 
intelligence  and  delicacy?" 

Mme.  de  Godollo  made  no  immediate  reply ;  she  cast  down 
her  eyes  and  her  deep  breathing  gave  a  tremulous  tone  to  her 
voice  : 

**  The  hate  of  a  woman  !"  she  replied,  "can  a  man  of 
your  stoicism  be  able  to  perceive  it  ?  " 

**  Oh  !  yes,  madame,"  answered  la  Peyrade,  "I  do  perceive 
it,  but  not  to  rebel  against  it  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  bless  the 
harshness  that  deigns  to  injure  me.  My  beautiful  enemy  now 
known  and  confessed,  I  shall  not  despair  of  touching  her 
heart,  for  I  will  never  again  tread  a  path  that  is  not  hers ; 
never  will  I  march  under  any  banner  that  she  has  not  made 
her  own.  In  everything  I  will  be  her  auxiliary,  her  slave;  if 
she  repulses  me  with  her  darling  foot,  punishes  me  with  her 
white  hand,  I  will  endure  it  with  pleasure.  For  all  this  sub- 
mission and  obedience  I  will  crave  but  one  favor — that  I  may 
kiss  the  print  of  the  foot  that  spurns  me,  of  bathing  with  tears 
the  hand  that  is  raised  to  strike  me." 

During  this  long  outcry  of  a  transported  and  distracted 
heart,  which  the  joy  of  triumph  had  wrung  from  the  impres- 
sible nature  of  the  Provencal,  he  had  glided  from  his  chair, 
and  at  the  end  found  himself  on  one  knee  before  the  countess 
in  the  conventional  attitude  of  the  stage,  but  which  is  far 
more  common  in  real  life  than  most  people  think, 

"Rise,  monsieur,"  said  the  countess,  "and  please  answer 
me. 

Then,  giving  him  a  questioning  gaze  beneath  the  lovely, 
frowning  eyebrows : 

"Have  you  carefully  weighed,"  said  she,  "  the  meaning  of 
what  you  have  just  said  ?  Have  you  gauged  the  pledge,  and 
plumbed  its  depths?  Your  hand  on  your  heart  and  con- 
science, are  you  the  man  to  redeem  this  promise ;  are  you  not 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  287 

one  of  the  falsely  humble  and  perfidious  men  who  only  affect 
to  embrace  our  knees  to  make  us  the  more  easily  lose  our  bal- 
ance, both  of  will  and  reason  ?  " 

"  I !  "  exclaimed  la  Peyrade;  "  never  can  a  reaction  occur 
against  the  fascinations  which  enthralled  me  at  our  first  inter- 
view. I  have  said  aloud  to-day  what  my  heart  has  long  held ; 
I  have  'Struggled  against  your  allurements ;  it  has  ended  in 
giving  me  a  firm,  deliberate  will,  understanding  itself,  and 
refusing  to  be  cast  down  by  your  severity." 

"Severity,  that  is  possible,"  said  the  countess,  **  but  you 
ought  also  to  think  of  the  kindness ;  we  foreign  women  do 
not  understand  the  levity  with  which  your  Frenchwomen 
enter  upon  the  most  solemn  engagement.  With  us  yes  is  a 
sacred  bond  ;  our  word  is  our  act.  We  do  nothing  by  halves. 
Our  family  arms  seem  pertinent  to  the  circumstances :  All  or 

NOTHING." 

"That  is  the  understanding  I  have  of  my  pledge,"  replied 
the  barrister;  "my  first  step  on  leaving  you  will  be  to  go  and 
put  an  end  to  that  ignoble  past  which  I  once  placed  in  the 
balance  against  my  present  intoxicating  future." 

"No,"  said  the  countess,  "do  it  calmly  and  with  due 
thought.  I  shouldn't  like  to  see  you  lose  your  head  and  going 
about  smashing  window-panes.  The  Thuilliers  are  not  such 
bad  folk  at  the  bottom  ;  they  humiliated  you  without  knowing 
it ;  their  world  is  not  yours.  Is  that  their  fault  ?  Untie  the 
knot,  don't  break  it.  Your  conversion  to  my  belief  is  of  very 
recent  date.  What  man  can  be  sure  what  his  heart  will  say 
to-morrow?  " 

"I,  madame,  am  that  man.  We  men  of  the  South  do  not 
love  in  the  French  fashion." 

"But  I  thought,"  said  the  Hungarian,  with  a  charming 
smile,  "that  our  discussion  was  on  hatred." 

"Ah  !  madame,  that  word  hurts  me;  the  rather  tell  me  that 
you  love  me." 

"  My  friend,"  replied  the  countess,  accenting  the  word, 


S88  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  one  of  our  moralists  says  :  '  There  are  those  who  say  :  this  is 
or  this  is  not ;  such  need  lake  no  oath  ; '  do  me  the  honor  of 
counting  me  among  such  people."  As  she  spoke  she  held 
out  her  hand  with  a  graceful  gesture.  La  Peyrade,  quite  be- 
side himself,  rapturously  kissed  it,  and  they  bade  each  other 
adieu. 

On  the  stairs  La  Peyrade  stopped  to  exhale,  one  might  say, 
the  happiness  with  which  his  heart  was  too  full.  When  oppo- 
site the  Thuillier  door  he  cried  : 

"At  last  I  have  fame,  fortune,  happiness;  more  than  all,  I 
can  give  myself  the  pleasure  of  revenge.  After  Dutocq  and 
C6rizet  I  will  crush  you,  vile  bourgeoise  brood?"  and  he 
shook  his  fist  at  the  innocent  double-door. 

The  next  day,  the  tempest  heaving  in  his  breast,  la  Peyrade 
went  to  see  Thuillier  in  the  most  hostile  mood.  How  amazed 
he  became  when,  as  soon  as  Thuillier  saw  him,  he  threw  him- 
self into  his  arms. 

"My  friend,"  said  the  ex-sub-chief,  "my  political  fortune 
is  made,  every  paper  without  exception  speaks  this  morning 
of  the  pamphlet  being  seized  ;  you  should  see  how  the  Oppo- 
sition sheets  peg  into  the  government." 

"Yes,  but  you  have  an  enemy  who  is  working  against  you; 
the  same  hand  that  prevented  your  getting  the  Cross  is  the 
one  that  seized  your  pamphlet ;  you  are  being  assassinated  by 
premeditation." 

"  Then  if  this  dangerous  enemy  is  known  to  you,  why  don't 
you  unmask  him  to  me  ?  "  said  Thuillier. 

"  I  don't  know,  but  I  have  suspicions,"  replied  la  Peyrade; 
**  this  is  what  you  get  by  playing  such  a  deep  game." 

"How!  a  deep  game?"  said  the  simple  Thuillier,  who 
well  knew  he  had  nothing  of  the  kind  with  which  to  reproach 
himself. 

"Certainly,"  replied  the  barrister.  "You  have  used 
Celeste  as  a  kind  of  decoy-duck  in  your  salon  ;  the  whole 
world  has  not  the  magnanimity  of  Monsieur  Godeschal,  who 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  289 

SO  generously  forgave  you  and  managed  that  business  of  the 
house. ' ' 

"Explain  yourself,"  said  Thuillier,  "I  can't  yet  compre- 
hend." 

"Nothing  is  easier.  Without  counting  me,  how  many  pre- 
tenders have  you  had  to  Celeste's  hand  ?  Godeschal,  Minard 
junior,  young  Phellion,  Olivier  Vinet,  all  men  who  have  been 
told  to  walk  their  chalks  like  as  I  have  been." 

"  Olivier  Vinet,  the  substitute,"  exclaimed  Thuillier,  struck 
with  a  new  light;  "  that's  the  one,  of  course,  that  caused  this 
blow.  His  father,  they  say,  has  a  very  long  arm.  But  it  can- 
not be  said  that  we  made  him  walk  his  chalk,  to  use  your  ex- 
pression, which  seems  unseemly  to  me ;  for  no  offer  was  made 
by  him  or  Minard  or  Phellion.  Godeschal  is  the  only  one 
who  took  the  risk  of  a  direct  refusal,  and  this  was  done  before 
he  had  even  dipped  his  beak  in  the  water." 

"Quite  true,"  said  la  Peyrade,  looking  for  a  new  ground 
of  quarrel ;  "  sly  men  always  brag  of  having  fooled  men  of 
their  word  and  decisive  people." 

"Now  what  are  you  aiming  at  by  those  insinuations? 
Didn't  you  properly  settle  everything  with  Brigitte  the  other 
day  ?  It's  a  nice  time  to  bother  me  about  your  love  affairs 
while  the  sword  of  justice  hangs  over  my  head." 

"  Oh  !  that's  it,"  said  la  Peyrade,  ironically ;  "  I  knew  how 
it  would  be  when  your  pamphlet  came  out — the  old  cry  of 
not  getting  out  of  me  all  that  you  expected  !  " 

"Well,  I  did  think  that  our  friendship  was  too  true  and 
devoted  for  you  to  fling  sarcasms  at  me  when  I  only  looked 
for  your  services. ' ' 

"  What  services?  "  asked  la  Peyrade.  "  Did  you  not  say 
yesterday  that  you  would  not  accept  my  assistance  under  any 
circumstances  ?  You  said  when  I  offered  to  defend  you  that 
you  would  employ  a  great  barrister." 

"Yes,  in  the  first  shock  of  surprise  ;  I  was  foolish,  naturally, 
but  after  reflection  I  see  that  you  could  better  defend  me  than 
19 


290  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Others,  as  you  know  thoroughly  what  you  have  written  with 
your  own  pen.  You  should  forgive  that  momentary  irritation. 
You  are  caustic  as  well  as  cruel." 

"Well,  I  refuse  to  do  anything  of  the  kind.  Things  have 
changed  since  yesterday.  I  see  to-day  that  you  had  better  get 
some  big-wig  of  the  law,  because  Vinet's  antagonism  is  taking 
on  such  proportions  that  I  should  be  afraid  to  tackle  the  re- 
sponsibilities." 

"I  understand,"  said  Thuillier,  sarcastically;  "monsieur 
has  an  eye  on  the  magistracy  and  does  not  want  to  quarrel 
with  one  who  is  slated  for  keeper  of  the  seals.  Quite  prudent, 
quite;  still  I  don't  think  it  will  help  on  your  marriage." 

"That  is  to  say,"  said  la  Peyrade,  catching  the  ball  on  its 
rebound,  "  that  to  get  you  out  of  the  clutches  of  the  jury  is 
the  thirteenth  labor  of  Hercules  that  you  would  impose  upon 
me  to  gain  the  hand  of  Mademoiselle  Colleville.  I  fully  ex- 
pected that  the  exigencies  would  multiply  in  proportion  to 
my  devotion.  But  just  that  same  thing  has  worn  me  out ; 
to-day  I  have  come  to  put  an  end  to  this  exploitation  of  my- 
self. You  may  dispose  of  Celeste's  hand  as  you  are  disposed ; 
so  far  as  I  am  concerned  I  am  no  longer  a  suitor." 

This  abrupt  and  unexpected  declaration  left  Thuillier  speech- 
less, the  more  so  as  that  moment  Brigitte  entered.  Her  ani- 
mosity had  declined ;  she  greeted  him  with  amicable  famil- 
iarity : 

"  Ah  !  there  you  are,"  said  she  to  la  Peyrade,  "  good  wheat 
of  a  barrister  !  " 

"Mademoiselle,  I  salute  you,"  gravely  responded  the  Pro- 
vencal. 

"Well,"  she  went  on,  not  paying  any  attention  to  la  Pey- 
rade's  ceremonious  manner,  "  the  government  has  done  it  by 
seizing  your  pamphlet.  You  should  just  see  how  the  morning 
papers  go  for  it.  Here,"  she  added,  passing  to  Thuillier  a 
small  sheet  printed  on  sugar-paper,  in  coarse  type  and  scarcely 
legible,  "  this  is  one  that  you've  not  yet  seen ;  this  is  the  journal 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  291 

of  our  old  quarter,  the  '  Echo  de  la  Bi^vre.'  It's  wrote  splen- 
did ;  it's  queer  though  how  careless  these  journalists  are ; 
most  of  them  write  your  name  without  the  h — you  ought  to 
complain  about  it." 

Never  before  had  Brigitte  troubled  about  the  papers  except 
to  see  whether  they  might  be  of  a  proper  size  in  which  to 
wrap  a  package ;  but  now,  under  the  influence  of  sisterly 
affection,  she  pointed  out  to  Thuillier  the  especially  bright 
spots. 

"Yes,"  said  Thuillier,  refolding  the  paper,  "that's  pretty 
warm,  beside  being  very  flattering  to  me.  But  there  is 
another  very  important  matter:  monsieur,  here  present,  has 
come  to  inform  me  that  he  is  no  longer  a  claimant  for 
Celeste's  hand." 

"  That  is  he  raeqns,"  said  Brigitte,  "  that  he  won't  take  on 
the  case  unless  he  is  married  out  of  hand  as  soon  as  it  is  over. 
Well,  it  seems  only  reasonable,  poor  man.  When  he  has 
done  that  there  should  not  be  any  further  delay ;  she  must 
accept  him;  everything  has  an  end." 

"You  hear,  my  dear  sir,"  said  la  Peyrade,  seizing  upon 
Brigitte's  commentary;  "when  I  have  pleaded,  the  wedding 
comes.  Your  sister  is  frankness  itself;  she  is  not  the  least 
diplomatic." 

"Diplomatic!"  exclaimed  Brigitte.  "I'd  like  to  see 
myself  grubbing  under  a  business ;  I  say  as  I  think  ;  the 
workman  has  done  his  work,  now  he  should  be  paid  in  full." 

"Be  quiet,  do,"  said  Thuillier;  "I  say  that  la  Peyrade 
returns  us  our  pledges  ;  he  claims  that  we  are  asking  another 
service  off*  him  for  Celeste's  hand ;  he  thinks  he  has  done 
quite  enough  as  it  is." 

"He  has  done  us  some  service,  undoubtedly,"  replied 
Brigitte;  "we  are  not  ungrateful  to  him.  All  the  same,  it 
was  he  that  caused  you  the  trouble.  It  seems  only  fair  that 
he  should  get  you  out  of  it." 

**  There  might  be  some  sense  of  justice  in  your  remarks," 


292  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

answered  la  Peyrade,  "  if  I  were  the  only  barrister  in  Paris  ; 
but,  unhappily,  the  streets  are  black  over  with  them.  Now, 
as  to  the  marriage,  as  I  don't  intend  being  made  the  object 
of  any  further  brutal  bargaining,  I  am  here  to  renounce  it  in 
the  most  formal  manner,  and  nothing  now  prevents  Celeste 
accepting  Monsieur  Phcllion  with  all  his  numerous  advan- 
tages." 

"At  your  pleasure,  my  dear  monsieur,"  replied  Brigitte, 
"  if  that  is  your  last  word.  We  shall  be  at  no  loss  in  finding 
a  husband  for  Celeste.  But  the  reason  you  give  is  not  the 
real  one.  We  can't  dance  faster  than  the  fiddlers  go,  the 
banns  have  to  be  published  ;  you  have  sense  enough  to  know 
that  no  wedding  can  take  place  till  all  formalities  have  been 
complied  with,  and  long  before  then  Thuillier's  trial  will  be 
over." 

"Yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "and  if  I  lose  the  case  it  will  be 
me  who  has  sent  him  to  prison,  the  same  as  yesterday  I 
caused  the  seizure." 

"  Well,  it  does  seem  to  me  that  if  you  hadn't  wrote  some- 
thing there  would  be  nothing  to  bite  at  by  the  police." 

"My  dear  Brigitte,"  interposed  Thuillier,  who  had  noted 
la  Peyrade  shrug  his  shoulders,  "it  is  not  la  Peyrade's  fault  if 
persons  high  in  station  are  conspiring  against  us.  That  little 
Vinet  who  came  to  one  of  our  receptions,  you  remember  him 
— well,  his  father  is  furious  because  we  didn't  want  him  for 
Celeste." 

"Well,  what  other  reason  than  monsieur's  fine  eyes  had 
we  for  refusing?"  said  Brigitte.  "After  all,  a  substitute  is 
a  very  desirable  catch." 

"Undoubtedly,"  said  la  Peyrade,  nonchalantly;  "only 
you  see  he  didn't  bring  you  a  million  !  " 

"Ah!  "  said  Brigitte,  flaming  up,  "if  you  are  going  to 
talk  again  about  the  house  you  got  us  to  buy,  I  don't  mind 
telling  you  pretty  plainly  that  if  you  had  had  the  money 
yourself  you  wouldn't  have  told  us  about  it.     You  would  have 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  293 

tricked  the  notary  for  yourself.  Beside,  we've  had  to  pay  a 
lot  more  than  you  said  it  would  cost." 

"  Come,  now,"  said  Thuillier,  "don't  speak  of  trifles." 

"  Trifles  !  trifles  !  "  repeated  Brigitte.  "  Did  we  pay  more 
than  we  expected,  or  didn't  we?" 

"  My  dear  Thuillier,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  discussion  is  use- 
less ;  my  mind  is  made  up ;  I  shall  not  be  Celeste's  husband, 
but  we  may  be  good  friends;  "  and  he  rose  to  leave. 

'•'One  moment,  monsieur,"  said  Brigitte,  barring  his 
way  ;  "  there  is  one  matter  yet  unsettled,  if  we  are  not  to 
have  anything  conjointly  again,  perhaps  you  will  be  so  good  as 
to  inform  me  what  became  of  that  ten  thousand  francs  given 
you  by  Thuillier  to  bribe  those  scoundrels  of  government 
oflScials  to  get  the  Cross  we  never  got." 

"  Brigitte,"  cried  Thuillier  with  anguish,  "  you  have  the 
tongue  of  hell ;  you  learned  that  from  me  once  when  I  was 
in  a  bad  humor,  you  promised  you  would  never  mention  it 
again." 

"No;  but,"  replied  the  implacable  Brigitte,  "when 
people  part  they  should  settle  up — pay  their  debts.  Ten 
thousand  francs,  a  real  Cross  is  dear  enough  at  that  price  ;  but 
for  a  Cross  that  has  wilted  away,  monsieur  will  admit  the 
price  is  rather  steep." 

"  Monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  ignoring  Brigitte,  and  pale 
with  rage,  "  I  am  not  prepared  to  instantly  return  you  the 
amount  which  has  been  so  insolently  demanded.  But  should 
you  be  pleased  to  grant  me  some  little  delay  and  accept  my 
note,  why " 

"  To  the  devil  with  a  note,"  said  Thuillier,  "  you  owe  me 
nothing ;  in  fact,  by  what  Cardot  said,  we  are  indebted  to  you ; 
he  said  we  ought  to  have  given  you  not  less  than  ten  thou- 
sand francs." 

"Cardot!  Cardot!"  said  Brigitte,  "he  is  very  generous 
with  other  people's  money.  We  were  giving  monsieur 
Celeste,  that's  better  than  ten  thousand  francs." 


394  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

La  Peyrade  was  too  fine  a  comedian  to  allow  such  an  affair 
as  this  pass  without  changing  it  to  a  scenic  finale.  With  tears 
in  his  voice,  which  presently  rolled  down  his  cheek : 

"Mademoiselle,"  said  he,  "when  I  had  the  honor  of 
being  received  by  you,  I  was  poor ;  you  saw  rne  accept  every 
indignity  with  forbearance,  for  you  knew  what  poverty  must 
undergo.  To-day  when  I  release  you  of  anxiety,  by  giving 
you  the  chance  of  attaining  the  husband  you  wish  for 
Celeste — for  if  you  were  honest  you  would  acknowledge  that 
you  had  that  thought — we  might  still  remain  friends.  Thank 
heaven,  I  have  in  my  heart  some  religious  sentiment;  the 
gospel  to  me  is  not  a  dead  letter,  so,  pray  understand  me,  / 
forgive  you.  It  is  not  to  Thuillier,  who  would  refuse  to  accept 
them,  that  I  shall  offer  the  ten  thousand  francs,  which  you 
believe  me  to  have  appropriated  to  my  own  use,  but  to  you. 
If  at  that  time  you  feel  how  unjust  your  suspicions  were  and 
should  scruple  to  keep  the  money,  you  can  hand  it  over  to  the 
Bureau  of  Benevolence " 

"  To  the  Bureau  of  Benevolence !  "  cried  Brigitte,  interrupt- 
ing him;  "thanks,  not  much.  What!  for  them  crowd  of 
junketing  do-nothings  to  have  that  distributed  amongst  them  ; 
folk  who  would  eat  off  the  head  of  the  good  God!  I've 
been  poor  myself,  my  boy ;  I  made  bags  for  people  to  put 
money  in  before  I'd  any  of  my  own  ;  now  that  I've  got  some 
I  mean  to  keep  it ;  so,  whenever  you're  ready  to  cash  up,  well, 
I'll  receive  that  ten  thousand  francs  and  keep  it,  too.  If  you 
didn't  know  better  than  to  try  and  put  salt  on  a  cock- 
sparrow's  tail,  why  so  much  the  worse  for  you," 

La  Peyrade  saw  that  he  had  missed  his  aim  and  had  not  in 
the  slightest  degree  impressed  Brigitte's  granite ;  he  cast  a 
disdainful  look  at  her  and  went  out  majestically.  Arriv- 
ing at  his  own  home  the  barrister  completed  his  emanci- 
pation by  writing  to  Mme.  CoUeville  that,  the  marriage  with 
Celeste  being  broken  off,  he  thought  that  propriety  required 
his  abstaining  from  visiting  her  house  for  the  future. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  295 

The  next  day  Colleville,  on  the  way  to  his  office,  called  on 
la  Peyrade  and  asked  what  '*  stupidity  "  he  had  written  Flavie, 
whom  he  had  left  plunged  in  the  direst  despair  from  it.  The 
barrister  with  the  utmost  gravity  reproduced  a  copy  for  the 
husband ;  it  was  certainly  not  a  love  letter  that  had  been  sent 
to  his  wife. 

"And  so  that  is  what  you  call  being  a  friend?"  said 
Colleville,  who  for  a  long  time  had  familiarly  ihoud  the 
Provencal.  "You  don't  marry  us — but  is  that  any  reason 
for  breaking  with  the  girl's  parents?  It  is  as  though  we  were 
responsible  for  Thuillier's  and  your  quarrel.  Is  this  the 
regard  that  you  profess  for  us?  My  wife,  has  she  not  always 
treated  you  kindly?" 

"  I  have  never  been  received  but  with  the  utmost  kindness 
and  the  greatest  consideration  by  Madame  Colleville,"  replied 
la  Peyrade. 

"  And  so  for  this  you  would  let  her  die  of  grief?  Never 
since  yesterday  has  she  laid  down  her  handkerchief;  I  tell 
you  she  will  be  really  ill." 

"Well,  I  must  frankly  tell  you,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "that 
my  visits  have  excited  comment ;  it  is  my  plain  duty  to  put 
a  stop  to  this  calumny." 

"What !"  exclaimed  the  husband,  "a  man  of  your  intel- 
ligence taking  notice  of  such  puerile  twaddle.  Why  she  has 
been  talked  about  for  five  and  twenty  years  has  my  wife,  and 
only  because  she  happens  to  be  better  looking  th^n  a  Madame 
Thuillier  or  Brigitte.  I  must  be  a  greater  scoundrel  than  you, 
for  this  tittle-tattle  has  not  caused  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  un- 
easiness in  our  household." 

"  I  admire  your  strength  of  mind,  but  it  is  rash  to  go 
against  public  opinion." 

"What  next!"  said  Colleville;  "I  trample  it  underfoot, 
this  public  opinion,  the  prostitute !  It  is  Minard  who  has 
done  this  gossiping,  all  because  his  fat  cook  of  a  wife  has 
never  attracted  the  attention  of  any  decent  man.     He  had 


296  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

better  look  after  his  son,  who  is  ruining  himself  with  an  elderly 
actress  at  the  Bobino." 

"Well,  my  dear  friend,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "try  and  bring 
back  Flavie  to  her  senses." 

"To  the  good  speech,"  said  Colleville,  vigorously  shaking 
the  hand  of  the  barrister  ;  "  you  call  her  Flavie  as  of  old  ;  I 
have  recovered  my  friend." 

"Certainly,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  serenely,  "friends  are 
always  friends." 

"Yes,  friends  are  friends,"  repeated  Colleville;  "friend- 
ship is  a  present  from  the  gods,  and  consoles  us  for  all  the 
crosses  of  life.  I  understand,  then,  that  you  will  call  upon 
my  wife  and  replace  our  household's  sorrow  with  joy  and 
serenity." 

La  Peyrade  made  a  vague  promise  and  wondered  whether 
the  husband — a  type  more  plentiful  than  supposed — was  an 
actor  or  genuine. 

At  the  time  when  la  Peyrade  was  about  laying  the  freedom 
he  had  recovered  at  the  feet  of  the  countess,  he  received  a  per- 
fumed note  on  which  he  recognized  the  famous  seal :  All  or 
Nothing,  which  was  to  govern  the  relations  between  them. 

"  Dear  Monsieur,"  said  Mme.  de  GodoUo,  "I  have  heard  of 
your  determination,  thanks  !  But  now  I  must  arrange  to  take 
my  own;  I  cannot,  you  must  see,  continue  to  reside  in  a 
sphere  so  far  from  that  of  ours,  one,  too,  in  which  we  have 
nothing  in  common.  To  make  this  arrangement  so  as  to 
avoid  explanations  for  the  reason  why  the  entresol  welcomes 
the  voluntary  exile  from  the  first  floor,  I  shall  need  to-day  and 
to-morrow  for  mvself.  Therefore,  do  not  call  to  see  me  until 
the  following  day.  By  that  time  I  shall  have  executed  Bri- 
gittc,  as  they  say  on  the  Bourse,  and  have  much  to  tell  you. 

"Tua  Tota, 
"  Comtesse  de  GodoUo." 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  297 

That  "wholly  thine  "  in  Latin  seemed  charming  to  la  Pey- 
rade ;  it  did  not  astonish  him,  for  he  knew  that  the  Latin 
tongue  with  the  Hungarians  was  almost  a  second  national 
language. 

In  the  interval  of  waiting  he  was  agitated  with  an  ardent 
passion,  which  was  but  increased  by  his  enforced  absence.  He 
ran  lightly  up  the  stairs  and  put  out  his  hand  to  ring  the  bell, 
but  tiie  silken  cord  was  missing;  he  thought  that  illness  might 
have  caused  this,  so  that  all  noise  should  be  silenced  ;  but  then 
he  noticed  that  the  soft  carpet  on  the  landing  had  been  re- 
moved and. the  portieres  taken  down.  He  had  to  resign  him- 
self to  take  the  same  means  employed  when  visiiing  a  milliner's 
apprentice  to  make  known  his  presence — he  rapped  with  his 
knuckles.  The  hollow  sound  revealed  the  void  within  ;  it  was 
intonuere  caverna.  Convinced  at  length  of  a  total  removal, 
he  thought  it  had  most  probably  been  caused  by  some  insolence 
of  the  old  maid.  But  what  an  idea  to  place  him  in  the  ridic- 
ulous position  called  by  the  vulgar  by  the  picturesque  appella- 
tion of  "meeting  the  wooden  face."  Being  determined  to 
fully  satisfy  himself,  before  going,  he  made  a  furious  assault 
upon  the  door. 

**  Whose  that  hammering  at  the  door  as  if  he  wanted  to  pull 
down  the  house?"  shouted  the  janitor  up  the  stairway. 

"Madame  de  Godollo — does  she  not  still  reside  here?" 
asked  la  Peyrade. 

"Certainly  she  doesn't  live  here  now  since  she's  left.  Had 
monsieur  told  me  he  was  seeking  her,  I  would  have  spared 
him  the  trouble  of  battering  down  the  door." 

"  I  knew  she  was  about  leaving  this  suite,"  said  la  Peyrade, 
"but  was  ignorant  that  she  had  already  done  so." 

"I  think  it  must  have  been  done  in  a  hurry,"  said  the 
janitor,  "  since  she  went  off  early  this  morning  with  post- 
horses.  ' ' 

"  Post-horses  ! "  repeated  la  Peyrade,  stupefied ;  "  then  has 
she  quit  Paris?" 


2$8  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Well,  people  don't  usually  go  post  from  one  quarter  of 
Paris  to  another,"  said  the  porter. 

"  Did  she  say  where  she  was  going  ?  " 

"What  a  funny  idea,  monsieur;  do  such  folk  give  any  ac- 
count of  themselves  to  the  like  of  us?" 

"  Did  she  leave  no  messages?  " 

"Nothing,  monsieur;  except  that  any  letters  which  might 
arrive  would  be  called  for  by  the  little  commander." 

La  Peyrade  went  away  with  despair  in  his  heart.  After  some 
reflection  he  muttered  to  himself: 

"  These  female  diplomats  are  often  charged  with  important 
secret  missions,  where  discretion  is  a  necessity  and  the  utmost 
rapidity  of  motion  required." 

Here  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feeling  came  over  him  : 

"  But  suppose  she  is  but  an  adventuress,  one  of  those  era- 
ployed  by  foreign  governments  as  secret  agents?  Suppose 
that  the  story  of  the  Russian  princess,  more  or  less  likely, 
being  obliged  to  sell  her  furniture  to  Brigitte  is  also  that  of 
this  Hungarian  lady?  But  yet,"  added  he,  as  his  brain  made 
a  third  revolution,  "  her  education,  manners,  speech,  every- 
thing, proclaim  her  a  woman  of  the  highest  position  ;  then, 
beside,  if  she  were  but  a  bird  of  passage,  why  try  to  win  me 
over?" 

La  Peyrade  might  have  continued  his  pleading,  for  and 
against,  for  a  much  longer  time,  if  he  had  not  felt  himself 
suddenly  seized  by  the  shoulders  by  a  strong  arm,  while  a 
voice  he  well  knew  cried  : 

"  My  dear  barrister,  lookout !  a  frightful  danger  menaces 
you  ;  you  are  running  into  it  headlong." 

La  Peyrade  turned  round  to  find  himself  in  Phellion's  arms. 
A  house  was  being  torn  down  and  Phellion,  with  his  spoken- 
of  fondness  for  the  like,  stood,  watch  in  hand,  looking  at  the 
workmen  and  calculating  how  long  a  time  would  elapse  before 
a  great  wall  would  topple  over. 

"You  there,  are  you  deaf  and  blind?"   ran  the  speech 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  299 

of  the  man  employed  to  warn  the  passers-by,  in  a  tone  that 
may  be  imagined. 

"  Thanks,  my  dear  monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  I  should 
have  been  erased  Wkt  an  idiot  only  for  you."  And  he  pressed 
Phellion's  hand. 

'*  My  reward,"  replied  he,  "  is  in  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that  you  are  saved  from  imminent  danger.  I  may  add 
that  the  gratification  is  increased  by  a  certain  pride,  for  I 
was  not  mistaken  to  a  moment  in  the  time  I  had  reckoned  upon 
for  the  instant  when  the  centre  of  gravity  of  that  formidable 
mass  would  be  displaced.  But  of  what  were  you  thinking  ? 
Perhaps  of  the  plea  you  would  make  in  the  Thuillier  case. 
You  have  a  noble  cause  to  defend,  monsieur.  Between  you 
and  I,"  added  the  great  citizen  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  think  it  a 
mean  action  on  the  part  of  the  government." 

"  I  am  of  the  same  opinion,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  but  I  am 
not  charged  with  the  defense." 

*'  Poor  man,"  said  Phellion  ;  "  I  called  to  see  him  when 
the  blow  fell.  (I  am  on  my  way  to  see  him  now.)  I  saw 
only  Brigitte,  who  was  conversing  with  Madame  de  Godollo  ; 
that  is  a  woman  who  possesses  strong  political  views.  It 
appears  that  she  predicted  that  the  seizure  would  occur." 

*'  Did  you  know  that  the  countess  had  left  Paris?"  said  la 
Peyrade. 

"Ah!  she  has  gone,"  said  Phellion.  "Well,  monsieur,  I 
must  tell  you  that  though  there  was  little  sympathy  between 
you  and  her,  yet  I  look  upon  her  departure  as  a  misfortune  ; 
she  leaves  a  serious  void  in  the  salon  of  our  friends ;  I  say 
this  because  I  think  it,  I  am  not  used  to  at  all  disguise  my  feel- 
ings." 

"Yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "she  is  a  most  distinguished 
woman  ;  I  think,  in  spite  of  her  predilections  against  me,  that 
we  should  have  come  eventually  to  some  kind  of  an  under- 
standing of  each  other;  but  this  morning  she  hastily  left  by 
post." 


300  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Post!"  exclaimed  Phellion.  "I  don't  know  whether 
monsieur  agrees  with  me,  but  I  think  traveling  post  is  most 
agreeable.  It  is  certain  that  Louis  XL,  to  whom  we  owe  this 
institution,  had  a  very  happy  thought ;  although  in  other 
matters  his  sanguinary  and  despotic  rule  was  not,  to  my  way 
of  thinking,  quite  devoid  of  reproach.  Only  once  in  my  life 
have  I  so  traveled,  but  I  may  truly  say  that  I  found  it  far 
superior,  in  spite  of  the  relative  increase  of  speed,  to  the  mad 
rush  of  the  iron  roads  or  '  railways,'  as  the  English  call  them, 
and  where  speed  is  acquired  at  the  cost  of  safety  and  the 
taxpayer. ' ' 

La  Peyrade  paid  but  small  attention  to  Phellion's  phrase- 
ology. "Whither  has  she  gone  ?  "  This  was  the  one  ques- 
tion round  which  all  his  thoughts  hovered.  But  the  great 
citizen  continued  : 

**  It  was  at  the  lime  of  Madame  Phellion's  last  confinement. 
She  was  at  Perche  with  her  mother,  when  I  learned  that  serious 
complications  had  ensued,  together  with  milk-fever.  A  wound 
in  the  pocket  is  never  fatal,  as  they  say,  so,  overwhelmed  with 
terror  at  the  danger  threatening  my  wife,  I  at  once  proceeded 
to  the  coach-office  to  obtain  a  seat  in  the  coach  ;  all  were 
taken,  and  had  been  for  a  week  in  advance.  My  mind  was  at 
once  made  up.  I  went  to  the  Rue  Pigalle,  and,  by  paying 
gold  down  on  the  spot,  I  obtained  a  chaise  and  two  horses ; 
but  unfortunately  I  had  neglected  the  formality  of  a  passport, 
without  which,  by  the  decrees  of  the  consulate  oi  17  Niv6se 
of  the  year  XII.,  they  are  not  allowed  to  deliver  horses  to  a 
traveler " 

The  last  words  were  a  flash  of  light  to  la  Peyrade ;  without 
the  finish  of  the  posting  Odyssey,  he  started  off  at  once  to  the 
Rue  Pigalle.  Arrived  at  the  establishment  of  the  royal  post, 
la  Peyrade  wondered  of  whom  he  might  best  inquire.  He 
explained  to  the  porter  that  he  wished  to  send  a  letter  to  a 
lady  of  his  acquaintance  ;  that  this  lady  had  neglected  to 
leave  her  address,  and  he  thought  he  might  possibly  learn  it 


THE    MTDDLE    CLASSES.  301 

by  means  of  the  passport  which  must  have  been  presented  in 
order  to  obtain  horses. 

*'  This  lady  traveler,  had  she  a  maid  with  her  ?  This  one 
I  picked  up  near  the  Madeleine,"  said  a  postillion  who  sat  in 
a  corner  of  the  room. 

"  Exactly,"  said  la  Peyrade,  advancing  eagerly  to  the  man 
of  providence,  and  slipping  a  crown  of  a  hundred  sous  into 
his  hand. 

"She's  a  rum  sort  of  a  traveler,"  said  the  post-boy;  "she 
told  me  to  take  her  to  the  Bois  du  Boulogne,  there  she  made 
me  drive  around  for  an  hour  ;  then  we  came  back  to  the  bar- 
rier de  I'Etoile,  where  she  gave  me  a  good  tip  and  got  into 
a  hack,  telling  me  to  take  the  chaise  to  the  man  she  had  hired 
it  from  on  the  Cour  des  Coches,  Faubourg  St.  Honore." 

"The  name  of  the  man  ?  "  demanded  la  Peyrade. 

"Sieur  Simonin,"  replied  the  postillion. 

Armed  with  this  information,  la  Peyrade  took  his  course, 
and  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  was  questioning  the  livery-stable 
keeper;  that  individual  could  only  say  that  the  chaise  had 
been  hired  for  half  a  day  without  horses,  and  that  it  had  been 
returned  at  noon  by  a  postillion  of  the  royal  post. 

"Never  mind,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I  am  certain  that  she 
has  not  left  Paris,  and  is  not  avoiding  me;  most  likely  she 
uses  this  pretended  journey  to  utterly  break  with  the  Thuil- 
liers.  Fool  that  I  am,  a  letter  assuredly  awaits  me  at  ray 
home  to  inform  me  of  all." 

Worn  out  with  hunger  and  fatigue,  he  took  a  hack  to  his 
home,  but  there  he  had  to  wait  for  the  porter,  Coffinet,  who 
since  Brigitte's  departure  had  been  remiss  in  his  duties.  La 
Peyrade  had  rushed  at  once  to  the  lodge,  but  the  porter  and 
his  wife  were  both  absent,  she  about  the  house,  he  in  a  wine- 
shop, where  between  two  drinks  he  defended  the  right  of  people 
to  own  property,  as  against  the  opinion  held  by  a  republican 
who  was  speaking  disrespectfully  the  other  way. 

It  was  over  twenty  minutes  before  this  worthy  janitor  re- 


302  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

mcmbered  that  he  had  certain  "property"  confided  to  him 
and  returned  to  his  functions.  One  can  figure  to  himself  the 
deluge  of  reproaches  with  which  la  Peyrade  saluted  him.  He 
made  some  kind  of  an  excuse,  and  handed  a  letter  to  him  which 
bore  the  Paris  postmark.  Rather  with  his  heart  than  his  eyes 
the  Provencal  recognized  the  writing  ;  the  arms  and  the  motto, 
when  he  turned  the  missive  over,  confirmed  the  hope  and  put 
an  end  to  the  cruelest  emotion  he  had  ever  experienced. 

To  read  this  letter  before  the  janitor  were  profanation  ;  by 
a  delicacy  of  feeling  which  all  lovers  will  understand,  he  did 
himself  the  pleasure  of  deferring  his  happiness ;  he  would  not 
even  break  the  seal  of  that  so  precious  missive  until,  safe  be- 
hind his  own  closed  door,  he  could  revel  to  his  heart's  con- 
tent in  the  ravishments  it  promised. 

Flying  up  the  stair,  two  steps  at  a  time,  the  amorous  Pro- 
vencal had  the  childishness  to  turn  the  key  in  the  door;  then, 
installed  before  his  desk,  he,  with  pious  dexterity,  broke  the 
seal ;  it  seemed  as  if  his  heart  would  break  his  ribs. 

"Dear  monsieur,"  was  written,  "I  disappear  forever,  for 
my  role  is  played  out.  I  give  you  my  thanks  for  having  ren- 
dered it  pleasant  and  easy.  By  embroiling  you  with  the 
Thuilliers  and  Collevilles,  who  are  now  fully  informed  as  to 
your  sentiments  about  them,  and  having  taken  great  care  to 
expatiate  to  extravagant  lengths,  in  a  manner  most  mortifying 
to  their  bourgeois  self-conceit,  on  the  real  cause  of  your  sud- 
den and  ruthless  rupture  with  them,  I  am  most  happy  to  say 
that  I  have  rendered  a  most  signal  service  to  you.  The  girl 
does  not  love  you,  and  you  only  love  the  beautiful  eyes  of  her 
dot.  So  I  have  saved  the  pair  of  you  from  a  hell.  In  ex- 
change for  the  one  to  whom  you  aspired,  another  is  destined 
for  you ;  she  is  richer,  more  beautiful  than  Mile.  Colleville, 
and,  speaking  for  myself,  in  conclusion,  much  freer  than 
**  Your  very  unworthy  servant, 

**  Wife  TOI^NA,  COMTESSE  DE  GODOLLO, 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  303 

**  P.  S.  For  further  information,  apply  without  delay  to  M. 
du  Portail,  gentleman,  Rue  Honore-Chevalier,  near  the  Rue 
Cassette,  quarter  of  Saint-Sulpice,  who  is  expecting  you." 

When  he  had  finished  this  screed,  the  advocate  of  the  poor 
put  his  head  in  his  hands;  he  saw  nothing,  heard  nothing, 
thought  nothing  ;  he  was  annihilated. 

Several  days  were  necessary  to  la  Peyrade  before  he  could 
recover  the  shock.  The  blow,  in  fact,  was  a  terrible  one; 
coming  out  of  that  golden  dream  in  which  he  had  seen  a 
perspective  of  the  future  in  such  a  radiant  atmosphere,  he 
found  himself  the  victim  of  a  hoax  which  wounded  him  most 
severely  in  his  self-conceit  and  all  his  pretensions  to  cunning 
and  cleverness ;  broken  with  the  Thuilliers  irrevocably ;  loaded 
with  a  debt  of  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  of  course  not  im- 
mediately due;  and  also  engaged  by  his  dignity  to  pay  Brigitte 
another  ten  thousand  francs ;  to  complete  all,  he  felt  that  he 
was  not  radically  cured  of  his  passionate  feelings  for  the  femi- 
nine author  of  this  great  disaster  and  the  instrument  of  his 
ruin.  We  might  go  further  and  say  that  he  never  ceased  to 
long  for  her.  That  desire  to  find  her  he  dubbed  curiosity, 
ardor  for  vengeance,  and,  as  a  consequence,  he  evolved  the 
ingenious  deductions: 

"  Cerizet  spoke  to  me  of  a  rich  heiress ;  the  countess  in  her 
letter  intimates  that  the  whole  intrigue  in  which  she  entangled 
me  was  to  lead  to  a  wealthy  marriage ;  rich  marriages  are  not 
so  plentifully  thrown  at  a  man's  head  that  two  such  should 
come  my  way  in  a  few  weeks ;  therefore,  the  match  offered 
me  by  Cerizet  and  that  proposed  by  the  countess  must  be  the 
same  crazy  girl  they  are  so  strangely  bent  on  making  me 
marry;  therefore,  Cerizet,  being  in  the  plot,  must  know  the 
countess;  therefore,  I  shall  get  upon  the  Hungarian's  track 
through  him.  In  any  case  I  shall  get  some  information  about 
this  strange  choice  that  has  befallen  me ;  evidently  these  peo- 
ple, whoever  they  may  be,  who  can  use  such  well-dressed  pup-; 


304  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

jjcts,  must  occupy  positions  of  considerable  importance.  I'll 
go,  therefore,  and  see  Cirizet." 

And  he  went  to  see  Cerizet. 

Since  the  dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale,  the  two  old 
cronies  had  not  met.  Once  or  twice,  at  the  Thuilliers,  la 
Peyrade  had  asked  Dutocq,  who  now  seldom  went  there  on 
account  of  its  distance,  what  had  become  of  his  copying- 
clerk. 

"  He  never  mentions  you,"  was  the  answer. 

It  might  well  be  supposed,  therefore,  that  resentment  reigned 
in  the  breast  of  the  vindictive  usurer,  the  manet  alta  mente  re- 
postum.  Such  a  consideration  as  this  could  not  detain  la 
Peyrade.  He  was  not  about  to  ask  for  anything  ;  he  was 
using  the  pretext  of  renewing  the  affair  about  which  Cerizet 
had  spoken  ;  Cerizet  never  had  any  part  in  things  that  were 
not  of  material  interest  to  himself;  the  chances  were  then 
that  he  would  be  received  with  enthusiasm.  He  called  upon 
him  at  the  justice  of  the  peace  office ;  he  did  not  pause  in  the 
waiting-room  but  pushed  through  to  the  office  adjoining  that 
of  Dutocq.  There  he  found  Cerizet  seated  at  a  blackened 
wooden  desk,  at  which  another  clerk,  then  absent,  occupied 
the  opposite  place. 

Seeing  the  entrance  of  the  barrister,  Cerizet  cast  a  savage 
look  at  him,  without  moving  or  ceasing  from  his  work  of  copy- 
ing a  judgment. 

"  Halloo  !  "  said  he,  "  you,  Sieur  la  Peyrade.  Well,  you 
made  a  pretty  mess  for  your  friend  Thuillier  with  your  pam- 
phlet !  " 

"How  are  you?"  asked  la  Peyrade,  in  a  tone  at  once 
resolute  and  amicable. 

"I,"  replied  Cerizet,  "as  you  see,  am  still  rowing  my  gal- 
ley ;  and,  to  follow  out  the  nautical  metaphor,  may  I  ask  what 
wind  has. blown  you  here  ;  perhaps  it  chances  to  be  the  wind 
of  adversity?" 

La  Peyrade  did  not  answer  this,  but  took  a  chair  which  he 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  305 

placed    alongside    his    questioner,    after   which    he   gravely 
said  : 

'*  My  dear,  we  must  have  a  few  words  with  each  other." 

"It  appears,"  said  the  venomous  Cerizet,  "  the  Thuilliers 
have  become  furiously  chilly  since  the  pamphlet  was  seized." 

"They  are  ungrateful  people j  I  have  broken  with  them," 
said  la  Peyrade. 

"Rupture  or  dismissal,"  replied  Cerizet,  "their  door  is 
none  the  less  closed  against  you  ;  from  what  Dutocq  tells  me, 
Brigette  doesn',  spare  you.  You  see,  my  friend,  what  comes 
of  trying  to  run  things  alone ;  there  is  no  one  to  help  smooth 
off  the  angles.  If  you  had  got  the  lease  for  me,  I  should  have 
been  introduced  to  the  Thuilliers;  Dutocq  would  not  have 
deserted  you,  and  we  should  have  steered  you  safely  into 
port." 

"And  if  I  don't  want  to  arrive  into  port  ?  "  replied  la  Pey- 
rade. "I  tell  you  I've  done  with  the  Thuilliers;  it  was  I 
broke  with  them  first ;  I  told  them  to  keep  out  of  my  sun- 
shine ;  and  if  Dutocq  told  you  anything  different,  you  may 
tell  him  from  me  that  he  lies :  is  that  straight  enough  ?  It 
seems  to  me  that  I  speak  plainly." 

"Oh,  just  so,  my  dear,  if  you  are  so  mad  at  all  these  Thuil- 
Uerieses,  why  that  was  the  reason  you  should  have  planted  me 
among  them,  then  you  would  have  seen  me  revenge  you  and 
show  'em  up." 

"You  have  reason  on  your  side,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "I 
should  have  been  glad  to  sicke  you  at  their  legs ;  but  I  had 
nothing  to  do  with  the  matter  of  the  lease." 

"Doubtless,"  said  Cerizet,  "it  was  your  conscience  that 
caused  you  to  tell  Brigette  that  the  twelve  thousand  francs 
were  as  good  in  her  pocket  as  in  mine." 

"  It  seems  that  Dutocq,"  said  the  barrister,  "still  continues 
on  his  honorable  course  of  spy,  which  he  practiced  in  the 
Bureau  of  Finance.     Like  others  who  follow  that  dirty  pro- 
fession, he  makes  his  reports  more  amusing  than  truthful." 
20 


806  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  Be  careful,"  said  Cerizet,  "  you  are  speaking  of  my  patron 
in  his  own  lair." 

"  Some  time  ago  you  spoke  to  me  of  a  girl  whom  I  could 
marry — rich,  matured,  and  suffering  the  least  in  the  world 
with  hysteria,  as  you  euphemistically  phrased  it." 

"So,  there!  I've  been  waiting  for  this,"  exclaimed  the 
usurer;  *'  but  you've  been  full  slow  in  getting  here." 

*'  In  offering  me  this  heiress,  what  had  you  in  your  mind  ?  " 

*'  ParbUu  /  to  assist  you  in  making  a  good  strike  ;  you  only 
had  to  stoop  to  conquer.  I  was  charged  to  make  a  formal 
proposal  to  you;  and,  as  there  wasn't  any  brokerage  in  it  for 
me,  I  relied  wholly  on  your  generosity,"  said  Cerizet. 

"You  are  not  the  only  one  that  made  me  that  offer;  a 
woman  made  the  same,  eh  ?  " 

"A  woman?"  replied  Cerizet,  in  so  natural  a  tone,  cer- 
tainly of  surprise.     "  Not  that  I'm  aware  of." 

"Yes,  a  foreigner,  young  and  handsome,  whom  you  must 
have  met  in  the  family  of  the  future  bride,  and  who  seems  to 
be  entirely  devoted  to  them." 

"Never,"  said  Cerizet,  "has  there  been  the  trace  of  a 
woman  in  the  negotiations ;  I  have  every  reason  to  think  that 
I  alone  had  the  charge  of  it." 

"What,"  said  la  Peyrade,  fixing  Cerizet  with  his  eye ;  "do 
you  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  never  heard  of  the  Comtesse 
Tornade  GodoUo?" 

"  Never  in  all  the  days  of  my  life;  it's  the  first  time  I  ever 
heard  the  name  pronounced." 

"  Then  it  must  have  been  another  match,"  said  la  Peyrade; 
"  this  was  a  young  person  much  richer  than  Mademoiselle 
Colleville." 

"And  matured?    And  hysterical?"  asked  Cdrizet. 

"No;  the  proposal  was  not  embellished  with  those  acces- 
sories ;  there  is  one  other  detail  may  give  you  the  clue ;  Ma- 
dame de  Godollo  desired  me,  if  I  wished  more  information, 
to  sec  a  Monsieur  du  Portail,  gentleman." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  807 

**Rue  Honor^-Chevalicr  ?  "  said  Cdrizet,  quickly. 

*' Exactly." 

"  Then  it  is  the  same  marriage  offered  from  two  different 
sides ;  the  only  strange  thing  about  it  is  that  I  should  not 
have  been  informed  of  my  collaborator." 

At  this  moment  the  door  of  the  office  was  cautiously  opened  ; 
a  woman's  head  was  seen  and  a  voice,  immediately  recognized 
by  la  Peyrade,  said,  addressing  the  clerk : 

"Ah!  your  pardon;  monsieur  is  busy.  May  I  be  allowed 
to  say  a  word  to  you  when  you  are  alone  ?  " 

Cerizet,  whose  eye  was  as  quick  as  his  pen,  noticed  this: 
La  Peyrade  sat  so  that  the  visitor  could  not  see  him,  but  he 
no  sooner  heard  the  honeyed  drawl  than  he  hurriedly  turned 
his  head  to  hide  his  features.  Instead,  then,  of  dismissing 
her  roughly,  the  usual  treatment  accorded  intruders  by  this 
least  pleasant  of  copying-clerks : 

"  Come  in,  come  in,  Madame  Lambert,"  the  modest  visitor 
heard.     "You  would  have  to  wait  so  long  a  time." 

"Ah!  Monsieur  the  Advocate  of  the  Poor,"  cried  his 
creditor.  "  How  pleased  I  am  to  meet  monsieur.  I  have 
been  several  times  to  your  house  to  see  if  you  had  attended  to 
my  little  matter." 

"  Truly,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  for  some  time  I  have  had  many 
occupations  that  have  kept  me  from  my  office ;  but  all  is  in 
order  and  the  petition,  properly  prepared,  has  been  sent  to 
the  secretary." 

"  How  good  monsieur  is,"  said  the  pious  woman,  clasping 
her  hands. 

^^Tiens!  you  and  Madame  Lambert  have  business  to- 
gether!" said  Cerizet;  "you  never  told  me  that.  Are  you 
old  Picot's  counsel  ?  " 

"  Unfortunately,  no,"  said  the  devotee ;  "  my  master  won't 
take  advice  from  any  one;  he  is  such  a  stupid,  willful  man. 
But,  my  worthy  sir,  is  it  true  that  another  family  council  is  to 
meet?" 


808  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Certainly,"  replied  Cerizet,  "and  not  later  than  to- 
morrow." 

"  But  why  is  this,  monsieur,  when  the  judges  of  the  court 
have  decided  that  the  family  have  no  rights  ?  " 

"Well,  yes,"  answered  the  copying-clerk,  "the  judge  of 
the  lower  court,  followed  by  that  of  the  court  of  appeals,  re- 
jected the  application  of  the  relations,  the  same  as  their  appli- 
cation for  a  commission  in  lunacy.  But  now  they  are  taking 
it  up  from  another  point  of  view  and  wish  to  have  a  trustee 
for  the  estate  appointed.  It  strikes  me,  my  dear  Madame 
Lambert,  that  old  Picot  will  be  leashed  up.  There  are  some 
very  grave  allegations  advanced  ;  to  pinch  a  little  is  all  right, 
but  to  grab  the  lot  is  a  bit  too  much." 

"Does   monsieur    believe? "  said    the   pious   woman, 

raising  her  hands  and  lifting  her  shoulders. 

"  I !  I  believe  nothing,"  said  Cerizet ;  "  I'm  not  the  judge 
in  the  case.  But  the  relatives  say  that  you  have  made  away 
with  considerable  sums  of  money,  beside  making  investments 
into  which  they  mean  to  inquire." 

"  My  God  !  "  said  she,  "  they  can  look  ;  I  have  not  a  bond, 
a  share,  or  a  note,  not  the  least  thing  of  value  in  my  pos- 
session." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Cerizet,  with  a  sidelong  glance  at  la  Peyrade, 

"you  have  obliging  friends  who  hold well,  it  has  nothing 

to  do  with  me;  each  must  manage  for  himself;  what  was  it 
that  you  particularly  wished  to  see  me  about  ?  " 

"  I  wished  for  you  to  speak  for  us  to  the  justice  of  the 
peace ;  the  vicar  of  St.  Jacques  will  give  us  a  good  recom- 
mendation. It  is  hard  that  the  poor  man,"  she  added,  weep- 
ing, "  should  be  tormented  so.  They  will  be  the  death  of 
him." 

"  Well,  as  I  told  you  before,  the  judge  is  against  you.  It's 
my  opinion  that  you  make  yourself  out  to  be  much  poorer 
than  you  are ;  if  my  friend,  la  Peyrade,  was  not  bound  by 
the  obligations  of  his  profession " 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  S(W 

**  I,"  interrupted  la  Peyrade,  quickly,  "  I  know  nothing  of 
madame's  business.  She  called  on  me  to  draw  up  a  memo- 
rial for  her  that  has  nothing  in  common  with  justice  or 
finance." 

"Ah!  that's  so,"  said  Cdrizet,  "she  came  about  the  peti- 
tion on  the  day  when  Dutocq  met  her — the  day,  you  know, 
before  the  famous  dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale,  when  you 
played  the  Roman." 

Then,  as  if  he  attached  no  significance  to  this  reminiscence : 
"Well,  my  worthy  Madame  Lambert,"  said  he,  "I'll  get 
my  patron  to  speak  to  the  justice,  but  I  give  you  warning  that 
he  is  not  on  your  side." 

Mme.  Lambert  made  her  exit  with  numerous  curtseys  and 
protestations  of  gratitude. 

"Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  when  they  were  alone,  "what 
about  this  du  Portail  ?" 

"Just  this:  he  is  a  little  old  man  as  clear  as  amber,"  re- 
plied Cerizet,  "  and  who,  it  seems  to  me,  has  the  devil's  own 
credit.     Go  and  see  him.     It  costs  nothing,  as  they  say." 

As  he  finished  speaking  Dutocq  came  in,  accompanied  by 
his  assistant  clerk. 

"Halloo!"  said  he,  seeing  la  Peyrade  and  Cerizet  to- 
gether, "see  the  reconstituted  trinity;  but  the  object  of  the 
alliance,  the  casus  fcederis,  is  gone  down  the  stream.  What 
have  you  done,  my  dear  la  Peyrade,  to  that  good  Brigitte  ? 
She  hates  you  with  a  mortal  hatred." 
"And  Thuillier?  "  asked  the  barrister. 
It  was  the  scene  in  Molidre  upside  down  ;  Tartuffe  asking 
for  news  of  Orgon. 

"  Thuillier  in  the  beginning  was  not  so  hostile  ;  but  it 
appears  that  the  business  of  the  seizure  is  not  so  bad  after  all. 
As  he  needs  you  less  he  swims  the  more  in  the  wake  of  his 
sister.  If  it  is  decided  that  there  is  no  case  against  him,  you 
will  be  only  fit  for  hanging,  in  his  opinion." 

**  I  am  well  out  of  that  mess,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  and  when 


SIO  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

I   get  caught  again  in  such  another   festival Farewell, 

my  dears,"  he  added. 

When  la  Peyrade  got  into  the  courtyard,  he  was  accosted 
by  Mme.  Lambert,  who  was  awaiting  him. 

"  Monsieur,"  said  she,  with  unction,  "  I  hope  you  do  not 
doubt  that  I  came  by  my  money  from  my  uncle  in  England  ; 
and  that  monsieur  does  not  believe  the  horrible  things 
Monsieur  Cerizet  said  before  you?" 

"That's  all  very  well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "but  you  must 
understand  that,  with  all  the  yarns  circulated  by  your  master's 
relatives,  there  is  little  chance  of  your  getting  the  prize  for 
virtue." 

"If  it  be  the  will  of  God  that  I  should  not  obtain  it " 

"You  must  see,  too,  how  important  it  is  to  keep  your  secret 
to  yourself  as  to  the  service  I  rendered  you.  On  the  first  in- 
discretion the  cash  will  be  returned." 

"Oh  !  monsieur  may  rest  easy  about  that." 

"Well,  then,  farewell,  my  dear,"  said  la  Peyrade,  in  a 
patronizing  voice. 

Brigitte  had  so  strong  an  instinct  of  despotism  that  it  was 
not  only  without  regret  but  with  secret  joy  that  she  saw  the 
disappearance  of  Mme.  de  Godollo.  That  woman  was  in  a 
crushing  manner  her  superior ;  this  added  much  to  the  good 
ordering  of  the  house,  but  made  her  feel  ill  at  ease.  Bri- 
gitte felt  when  she  had  gone  like  those  kings  who  for  a  long 
time  had  been  dominated  by  capable  ministers,  and  who  re- 
joice when  death  steps  in  to  remove  the  tyrant  whose  services 
and  rival  influences  he  has  had  to  endure. 

Thuillier  felt  much  the  same  about  it ;  but  la  Peyrade  was  a 
different  thing,  he  felt  the  lack  of  his  assistance.  The  coun- 
cilor was  called  upon  to  draw  up  an  official  report.  After 
having  written  such  a  pamphlet,  it  was  impossible  he  should 
decline  the  task.  But  it  was  in  vain  that  he  shut  himself  up 
in  his  study,  gorged  himself  with  black  coffee,  mended  his 
pens  times  without  number,  to  write :   "A  Report  to  the  Gen- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  317 

tlemen,  the  Members  of  the  Municipal  Council  of  the  City  of 
Paris,"  time  after  time.  Then,  after  starting  off  on  another 
sheet:  "Gentlemen,"  he  would  rush  madly  from  the  room, 
complaining  of  the  terrible  racket  which  had  stopped  his 
ideas,  when  some  one  had  opened  a  closet  door  or  moved  a 
chair.     This  did  not  advance  the  business,  nor  even  begin  it. 

But  here  Rabourdin  came  to  the  rescue.  He  wished  some 
little  alterations  in  his  rooms.  This  Thuillier  willingly  al- 
lowed, and  spoke  to  him  of  the  difficulty  of  his  task.  Ra- 
bourdin, with  his  constant  practice  in  official  matters,  gave  an 
explanation,  but  when  he  had  concluded  he  perceived  plainly 
that  Thuillier  did  not  understand.  He  then  informed  him 
that  he  had  an  old  report  on  a  similar  subject,  and  lent  him 
the  manuscript,  from  which  he  extracted  more  than  enough 
for  a  capable,  if  inept,  report.  This  report  when  read  at  the 
council  was  a  great  success,  and  Thuillier  came  home  beaming 
with  the  compliments  lavished  upon  him.  Up  to  his  death 
he  spoke  of  "  that  report  I  had  the  honor  of  laying  before  the 
Municipal  Council  of  the  Seine."  La  Peyrade  had  sunk  in 
his  estimation — he  could  do  without  him. 

A  parliamentary  crisis  was  impending  ;  advantage  was  taken 
of  this  by  the  ministry  to  relax  the  stringent  laws  against  the 
press  and  to  extend  clemency  to  political  suspects,  with  the 
idea  of  disarming  opposition.  Thuillier  was  included  in  this 
hypocritical  amnesty. 

Then  Dutocq's  prophesy  was  realized.  With  this  load 
taken  off  his  back,  Thuillier  insolently  swaggered  over  the 
dismissal  of  the  case,  and,  with  Brigitte  chanting  in  chorus, 
spoke  of  la  Peyrade  as  a  sneak  whom  he  had  fed,  who  owed 
him  considerable  sums,  and  who  had  behaved  with  the  worst 
ingratitude.  Orgon  was  in  full  revolt,  and,  like  Dorine,  was 
ready  to  cry : 

"A  pauper  who  came  without  wearing  shoes, 
In  old,  draggled  clothes  that  no  beggar  would  choose." 


312  THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Dutocq  faithfully  reported  all  this  to  Cerizet,  but  he  had 
no  opportunity  of  retailing  them  to  la  Peyrade,  for  they  had 
not  met  since  the  interview  in  the  justice's  office.  La  Pey- 
rade found  it  out  him^jelf.     It  happened  in  this  wise: 

Constantly  pursued  by  thoughts  of  the  handsome  Hunga- 
rian and  not  waiting  to  know  what  Cerizet  could  learn,  he 
scoured  Paris  in  every  direction.  He  might  have  been  taken 
for  the  most  indifferent  of  strollers.  He  was  to  be  seen  in 
the  most  crowded  places;  his  heart  ever  telling  him  that 
sooner  or  later  he  would  encounter  the  object  of  his  ardent 
search. 

One  evening,  it  was  about  the  middle  of  October,  the 
fall,  as  often  happens  in  Paris,  was  magnificent,  and  out- 
doors was  as  bustling  as  at  midsummer.  On  the  Boulevard 
des  Italiens,  once  known  as  the  Boulevard  de  Gaud,  as  he 
wandered  past  the  long  line  of  chairs  in  front  of  the  Cafe  de 
Paris,  where,  in  the  midst  of  some  women  of  the  Chausee  d* 
Antin,  accompanied  by  their  husbands  and  children,  may  be 
seen  in  the  evening  an  espalier  of  beautiful  night  flowers 
waiting  only  the  gloved  hand  to  pluck  them,  la  Peyrade  was 
struck  to  the  heart ;  in  the  distance  he  fancied  he  saw  his 
adored  countess. 

She  was  alone,  in  a  splendid  toilette  which  seemed  rather 
out  of  place,  taken  in  connection  with  her  isolation  ;  before 
her,  mounted  on  a  chair,  trembled  a  white  lap-dog  which  she 
caressed  with  her  hands.  After  assuring  himself  that  he  was 
not  mistaken  la  Peyrade  was  about  to  dart  upon  that  so  celes- 
tial vision,  when  he  was  forestalled  by  a  lion  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished type ;  without  throwing  aside  his  cigar,  without 
even  putting  his  hand  to  his  hat,  this  handsome  young  man 
entered  into  conversation  with  his  ideal.  When  she  saw  the 
Provencal,  pale  and  disposed  to  address  her,  the  siren  doubt- 
less became  alarmed,  for  she  rose  and  took  the  arm  of  the 
man  who  was  talking  to  her. 

"  Is  your  carriage  here,  Emile?"  said  she.     "  This  is  the 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  313 

evening  for  the  closing  of  the  Mabile.  I  should  like  to 
go. 

As  thrown  in  the  teeth  of  the  unhappy  barrister,  the  name 
of  this  disreputable  place  instead  of  causing  a  wound  was  a 
real  charity,  for  it  saved  him  from  a  silly  action,  that  of 
addressing  on  the  arm  of  her  cavalier  the  unworthy  creature 
of  whom  a  few  moments  earlier  he  had  thought  of  with  a 
treasure  of  tenderness. 

"  She  is  not  worthy  an  insult,"  he  said  to  himself. 

But  as  lovers  are  a  people  not  easily  driven  to  raise  a  siege 
when  they  have  begun  it,  the  Provencal  was  not  as  yet  con- 
vinced that  he  had  got  to  the  bottom  of  the  affair.  Not  far 
away  sat  another  woman  near  the  place  whence  the  Hunga- 
rian had  gone ;  but  this  one,  ripe  in  years,  feathers  on  her 
bonnet,  showed  beneath  the  folds  of  a  colored  shawl  the  sad 
relics  of  departed  splendor.  Her  aspect  was  not  imposing ; 
it  was  the  contrary.  La  Peyrade  seated  himself  near  and 
addressed  her: 

"  Do  you  know,  raadame,"  he  asked,  without  ceremony, 
*'  who  the  woman  is  that  went  away  leaning  on  the  arm  of  a 
gentleman  ?" 

**  Certainly,  monsieur,  I  know  all  the  ladies  who  come 
here." 

"And  her  name  is?" 

**  Madame  Komorn." 

**  Is  she  as  impregnable  as  the  fortress  by  that  name?  " 

*'  Is  it  that  monsieur  has  an  idea  of  making  her  acquaint- 
ance? " 

**  I  don't  know,"  said  the  Provencal,  "but  she  is  a  woman 
who  makes  people  think  of  her." 

"And  who  is  a  very  dangerous  woman,  monsieur,"  replied 
the  matron,  "  a  dreadful  spendthrift,  but  one  who  makes  little 
return  in  favors  for  what  may  be  done  for  her.  I  am  able  to 
speak  as  to  that ;  when  she  arrived  here  from  Berlin,  six 
months  ago,  she  was  warmly  introduced  to  me." 


814  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Ah  !  "  exclaimed  la  Peyrade. 

"  Yes,  at  that  time,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Ville 
d'Avray — a  pretty  little  place  with  a  park,  covert,  and  fish- 
lakes — and  being  dull  there  and  all  alone,  and  had  not  the 
fortune  necessary  to  lead  the  life  of  a  castle,  a  number  of 
gentlemen  and  ladies  suggested  that  I  should  organize  parties 
on  the  line  of  picnics.     '  Madame  Louchard,'  says  they " 

"Madame  Louchard!  "  repeated  la  Peyrade.  "Are  you 
then  any  relation  to  Monsieur  Louchard  of  the  commercial 
police?" 

"  His  wife,  monsieur,  but  with  a  legal  separation.  He's  a 
terror  of  a  man  who  wants  me  to  go  back  to  him  ;  but  I, 
though  willing  to  forgive  most  things,  I  can't  stand  a  lack  of 
respect.     Why,  one  day  he  raised  his  hand  to  strike  me " 

"In  fact,"  said  la  Peyrade,  interrupting  her  to  call  up 
the  subject  again,  "  you  arranged  these  picnics  and  Madame 
de  Godo — I  mean  Madame  Komorn ?" 

"  Was  one  of  the  first  in  my  home.  She  there  picked  up 
with  an  Italian,  a  fine  man,  rich,  and  a  political  refugee,  but 
high  and  mighty.  You  can  quite  understand  that  it  did  not 
suit  my  purpose  that  intrigues  should  be  carried  on  in  my 
house  ;  still  the  man  was  so  much  in  love,  and  so  unhappy 
because  he  couldn't  get  Madame  Komorn  to  care  for  him, 
that  it  ended  in  my  being  interested  in  his  love  affairs.  It 
brought  lots  of  grist  to  madame's  mill,  for  she  managed  to  get 
heaps  of  money  out  of  that  Italian.  Well,  would  you  credit 
it?  being  just  then  in  need  of  a  little  help,  when  I  asked  her 
to  advance  me  a  little  cash,  she  absolutely  refused  and  left  my 
house,  taking  her  lover  along  with  her.  He  can't  be  very 
thankful  for  the  connection  though,  poor  man." 

"Why,  what  came  of  him?"  asked  la  Peyrade. 

"Why  it  happened  that  this  serpent  knew  every  European 
language — she  is  smart  to  her  finger  ends,  but  more  intriguing 
than  smart — so  being,  as  it  seemed,  employed  by  the  police  in 
some  capacity,  she  turned  over  to  the  government  a  lot  of 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  S15 

correspondence  which  the  Italian  had  inadvertently  left  laying 
around,  so  he  was  expelled  France." 

"And  after  the  departure  of  the  Italian,  this  Madame 
Komorn ?  " 

"Had  a  number  of  adventures  and  broke  up  some  fine 
fortunes  ;  I  thought  she  had  left  Paris.  For  two  months  past 
she  has  not  been  seen.  I  believed  she  had  totally  disappeared, 
but  the  other  day  she  turned  up  again  more  brilliant  than 
ever.  My  advice  to  monsieur  would  be  to  leave  her  alone  ; 
but  monsieur  is  a  Southerner,  he  has  the  passion  of  the  South- 
erners, perhaps  what  I  have  said  may  only  serve  to  fire  you 
up.  However,  she's  a  very  fascinating  creature — oh  !  very 
fascinating.  Although  we  parted  bad  friends  she  came  up  to 
me  and  asked  my  address  and  said  that  she  would  call  upon 
me  sometime." 

"Well,  madame,  I'll  think  about  it,"  said  la  Peyrade,  ris- 
ing and  making  a  bow  to  his  informant. 

It  was  a  cold  salutation,  and  his  abrupt  departure  indicated 
that  the  man  was  not  serious  in  his  attentions. 

The  investment  of  the  Thuilliers,  prepared  with  such  care 
by  la  Peyrade,  at  the  price  of  such  sacrifice  of  pride,  was  en- 
tirely useless.  Flavie  well  avenged  for  the  odious  farce  he 
had  played  with  her,  his  position  worse  than  when  he  was 
rescued  by  Ccrizet  and  Dutocq,  his  heart  filled  with  venge- 
ful projects  against  the  woman  who  had  so  easily  beaten  him 
out  like  a  stupid  sheep,  the  memory  of  what  he  had  been 
subject  to  in  his  self-abasement — these  were  the  thoughts  and 
emotions  of  his  sleepless  night,  except  the  few  moments 
shaken  by  hideous  dreams. 

On  the  next  day  la  Peyrade  was  a  prey  to  fever,  the  symp- 
toms became  most  alarming,  the  physician  took  every  means 
to  forfend  brain  fever  ;  bleeding,  cupping,  ice  on  the  head — 
this  was  the  agreeable  finale  to  his  dream  of  love.  But  it  must 
be  said  he  arose  cured,  mentally  as  well  as  physically ;  he 
retained    no   other   sentiment   than   cold   contempt   for   the 

Y 


31 R  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

treacherous  Hungarian,  a  sentiment  that  did  not  even  rise  to 
a  desire  for  vengeance. 

Once  more  on  liis  feet  he  reckoned  with  his  future ;  he 
asked  himself  whether  he  should  attempt  the  reconquest  of 
the  Thuilliers,  or  whether  he  should  fall  back  upon  the 
crazy  girl  who  had  riches  where  the  others  had  brains.  Great 
commotions  of  the  soul  are  like  storms  that  purify  the  atmos- 
phere ;  they  induce  good  counsel  and  generous  resolve.  The 
bar  was  open  to  him  ;  that  was  a  broad  path  which  was  able 
to  lead  him  to  the  acme  of  his  ambition.  Like  Figaro,  who 
showed  more  science  and  ability  in  order  to  live,  than  states- 
men had  shown  in  a  thousand  years  in  the  government  of 
Spain,  he,  in  order  to  establish  himself  in  the  Thuillier 
household,  to  marry  the  daughter  of  a  clarionet  and  a  flirt, 
had  expended  more  art,  more  wit,  more  dishonesty  than 
would  have  made  him  successful  in  an  honorable  career. 

"Enough,"  said  he,  "of  such  acquaintances  as  Dutocq 
and  Cerizet ;  enough  of  the  nauseating  atmosphere  breathed 
by  the  Minards,  Phellions,  CoUevilles  et  al.  Living  in  Paris," 
added  he,  "I'll  shake  off  this  provincial  life,  a  thousand 
times  more  ridiculous  and  paltry  than  the  provincialism  of  the 
country;  that  with  all  its  narrowness  has  its  individuality  and 
customs,  a  sui  generis  dignity ;  they  are  frankly  what  they 
profess  themselves,  the  antipodes  of  the  Parisian  ;  this  other 
is  only  a  parody." 

With  this  determination  la  Peyrade  called  upon  two  or 
three  attorneys  who  had  offered  to  introduce  him  to  the  courts 
by  giving  him  a  few  minor  cases  to  plead.  He  accepted  ;  he 
was  no  longer  the  advocate  of  the  poor,  but  a  recognized 
pleader. 

He  had  become  comparatively  successful  when  one  morning 
he  received  a  letter  from  the  president  of  the  association  of 
barristers  asking  him  to  call  upon  him,  as  he  had  somewhat  of 
importance  to  speak  of  At  once  la  Peyrade  thought  of  the 
Madeleine  house  transaction — this  must    have   come   to  the 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  S17 

knowledge  of  the  Board  of  Discipline.  It  might  be  thai  du 
Portail  had  been  told  the  whole  story  by  Cerizet.  It  was 
plain  that  this  man  would  stop  at  nothing,  as  witness  his  em- 
ployment of  the  Hungarian.  Was  it  that  this  virulent  man 
whom  he  had  never  seen,  seeing  that  he  was  becoming  success- 
ful in  his  career,  had  determined  to  blight  it  by  informing 
upon  him  ?  The  barrister  remained  in  cruel  suspense  for  the 
hour  when  he  might  learn  the  truth.  While  he  ruminated  over 
his  breakfast,  Mme.  Coffinet,  who  had  the  honor  of  being  his 
housekeeper,  entered  to  say  that  a  Monsieur  Etienne  Lousteau 
wished  to  see  him, 

"Show  him  into  my  office,"  said  he  to  the  portress. 

A  moment  later  he  met  his  visitor,  whom  he  seemed  to  have 
a  faint  recollection  of  having  seen  before. 

"  Monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade's  guest,  "  I  had  the  honor  of 
once  breakfasting  with  you  at  M.  Vefour's ;  I  was  invited 
to  that  meeting,  which  was  afterward  somewhat  troubled,  by 
Monsieur  Thuillier,  your  friend." 

"Ah!  very  good,"  said  the  barrister,  pushing  a  chair 
toward  him,  "you  are  attached  to  the  staff  of  some  news- 
paper?" 

"  Editor-in-chief  of  the  *  Echo  de  la  Bievre ; '  it  is  on  that 
matter  I  wish  to  speak  to  you.    You  know  what  has  happened  ? ' ' 

"No,"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"  What,  are  you  ignorant  that  the  ministry  met  a  frightful 
reverse  yesterday.  But  instead  of  resigning  they  are  going 
to  throw  themselves  upon  the  country;  so  the  Chamber  is 
dissolved." 

"  I  did  not  know  that ;  I've  not  read  the  morning  papers." 

"All  aspirants  for  a  nomination  as  deputy  are  now  in  the 
field ;  I  believe  that  Monsieur  Thuillier  intends  to  offer  him- 
self for  the  twelfth  arrondissement." 

"I  believe  such  is  his  thought." 

"Well,  I  am  willing,  monsieur,  to  place  at  his  disposal  an 
organ  of  which  I  think  you  will  not  fail  to  estimate  the  value, 


818  THE  MIDDLE  CLASSES. 

The  '  Echo  dc  la  Bifevre,'  a  trade  paper,  can  have  a  decisirt 
influence  in  that  quarter  on  the  election." 

"And  are  you  seriously  disposed,"  asked  the  barrister,  "  to 
make  that  journal  support  Thuillier's  candidature?" 

''Better  than  that,"  replied  Loustcau,  "I  am  here  to  pro- 
pose to  Monsieur  Thuillier  that  he  purchase  the  organ ;  should 
he  become  the  owner  he  could  use  it  as  he  wished." 

"But  in  the  first  place,"  answered  la  Peyrade,  "  what  is 
the  present  condition  of  the  enterprise?  Being  a  trade 
journal,  as  you  just  called  it,  I  have  seen  it  but  seldom ;  it 
would  be  unknown  to  me  only  for  the  remarkable  article  you 
were  so  kind  as  to  devote  to  Thuillier's  defense  when  the 
pamphlet  was  seized." 

Lousteau  bowed  his  thanks,  and  replied : 

"The  position  of  the  paper  is  excellent;  we  can  sell  on 
easy  terms,  for  we  were  about  giving  up  its  publication." 

"That  is  strange  with  a  journal  that  is  prosperous,"  said 
the  barrister. 

"  Nothing  more  natural,  on  the  contrary,"  replied  Lousteau ; 
"  the  founders  having  gained  the  ends  for  which  it  was  estab- 
lished, the  *  Echo  de  la  Bievere '  has  thus  become  an  effect 
without  a  cause." 

"I  should  have  thought,  however,"  said  la  Peyrade,  in- 
sistingly,  "  that  a  journal  would  be  a  lever  that  depended  for 
its  force  on  the  number  of  its  subscribers." 

"Not  for  such  as  have  a  definite  aim,"  replied  Lousteau, 
dogmatically.  "  In  such  a  case  subscribers  are  an  embarrass- 
ment, for  you  have  to  cater  to  and  amuse  them  ;  and,  during 
this  time,  the  real  object  must  be  neglected.  A  paper  which 
has  but  a  circumscribed  orbit  should  be  like  the  stroke  of  that 
pendulum  which,  always  striking  steadily  on  one  spot,  fires  at 
the  right  moment  the  cannon  at  the  Palais-Royal." 

"Well,  what  price  do  you  put  upon  this  publication,  which 
may  not  even  pay  its  expenses  and  is  devoted  to  an  utterly 
different  purpose  ?  " 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  319 

"Before  answering,  I  beg  to  ask  you  another  question: 
Have  you  any  intention  of  buying?  " 

*'  That  depends  upon  circumstances,"  said  the  barrister ;  "  I 
should  naturally  have  to  first  present  the  matter  to  Thuillier, 
whom,  I  may  remark,  knows  absolutely  less  than  nothing  of  a 
newspaper  and  its  workings.  So  that  if  you  ask  an  alarming 
price  I  can  inform  you  here  and  now  that  it  would  be  useless 
for  me  to  mention  it  to  him ;  he  certainly  would  not  touch 
it." 

*'  No,"  replied  Lousteau,  *'  I  told  you  we  should  be  reason- 
able ;  these  gentlemen  have  given  me  a  free  hand ;  only  I 
wish  to  remark  that  we  have  several  propositions  and  I  crave 
an  early  answer.  The  proposition  is  made  to  Monsieur 
Thuillier  to  pay  him  a  particular  courtesy.  When  may  I  hope 
for  your  reply?" 

"To-morrow,  most  likely,"  answered  la  Peyrade,  bowing 
out  his  visitor. 

By  the  manner  in  which  the  Provencal  had  received  the 
proposition  to  become  the  intermediary  with  Thuillier,  the 
reader  will  see  that  a  sudden  change  had  taken  place  in  his 
ideas.  Evidently  his  "good  friend"  would  have  to  come 
back  to  him;  Thuillier's  eager  desire  to  be  elected  would 
hand  him  over  tied  hand  and  foot.  Was  not  thi3  the  right 
moment  to  renew  the  affair  of  his  marriage  with  Celeste? 
Moreover,  if  he  received,  as  he  dreaded,  one  of  these  cen- 
sures which  would  ruin  his  future  at  the  bar,  it  was  the 
Thuilliers,  the  ones  who  profited  by  the  cause  of  his  fall,  that 
his  instinct  claimed  should  afford  him  an  asylum.  Thinking 
thus,  la  Peyrade  went  to  see  the  president  of  the  barristers' 
association. 

It  was  just  as  he  had  guessed  ;  in  a  clear  and  very  circum- 
stantial report  the  matter  of  the  buying  of  the  house  had 
been  laid  before  the  notice  of  his  peers  ;  the  highest  digni- 
tary of  the  order  admitted  that  an  anonymous  communication 
must  always  be  regarded  with  distrust,  but  that  he  was  ready 


320  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

to  hear  any  explanations  he  might  wish  to  make.  La  Peyrade 
dare  not  intrench  himself  in  an  absolute  denial ;  the  hand 
which  had  delivered  the  blow,  as  he  thought,  was  far  too  deter- 
mined and  adroit  to  not  hold  the  proof  as  well.  But  while 
admitting  the  facts  in  general,  he  gave  them  a  pleasing  color. 
He  saw  that  he  had  not  succeeded,  when  the  president  said : 

"As  soon  as  the  next  vacation  is  ended  I  shall  send  a  re- 
port to  the  Council  of  our  order  of  the  charges  made  and  the 
explanations  you  have  given.  The  Council  only  can  pro- 
nounce on  a  matter  of  such  importance." 

Thus  dismissed,  la  Peyrade  felt  that  his  future  at  the  bar 
was  imperiled,  but  at  least  he  had  a  respite.  He  put  on  his 
gown  and  went  to  the  fifth  court,  where  he  had  to  plead  a 
case.  As  he  left  the  court,  carrying  a  bundle  of  papers  tied 
up  with  a  strip  of  cotton  webbing,  and  carried  by  the  fore- 
arm being  pressed  against  the  chest,  la  Peyrade  paced  the 
Salle  des  Pas  Perdues,  with  that  worried  look  which  distin- 
guishes the  overworked  barrister ;  he  perspired  and  mopped 
his  brow  as  he  walked,  when,  in  the  distance  he  saw  Thuillier, 
who  had  just  caught  sight  of  him  in  that  vast  hall. 

He  was  not  surprised  at  meeting  him.  On  leaving  home 
he  had  informed  Mme.  Coffinet  that  he  was  going  to  the 
Palais  and  should  be  there  until  three  o'clock,  and  she  might 
send  any  person  there  who  came  to  ask  for  him. 

He  had  no  wish  to  make  his  accosting  by  Thuillier  a  too 
easy  matter,  so  he  turned  abruptly  and  took  his  way  to  one  of 
the  benches,  as  if  he  had  changed  his  purpose,  and  there 
seated  himself,  taking  a  paper  from  the  bundle  and  seemingly 
absorbed  in  its  contents.  During  this  time  he  watched  Thu- 
illier out  of  the  corner  of  his  eye ;  so  Thuillier,  thinking  he 
was  engaged  on  some  serious  matter,  doubted  whether  to 
address  him.  After  some  backings  and  fillings  the  municipal 
councilor  made  up  his  mind  and  sailed  straight  before  the 
wind,  heading  for  the  spot  for  which  during  the  past  fifteen 
minutes  he  had  been  steering. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  821 

**  Halloo !  Theodose,"  he  exclaimed.  "Then  do  you 
often  come  to  the  Palais  now?  " 

"  Well,  to  me  it  seems  that  barristers  in  the  Palais  are  like 
Turks  in  Constantinople,  where  a  friend  of  mine  assures  me 
that  plenty  are  to  be  seen.  It  is  I  that  should  be  astonished 
at  seeing  you  here." 

"Not  at  all,"  replied  Thuillier,  carelessly;  "I'm  here 
about  that  cursed  pamphlet.  Is  there  ever  any  end  to  your 
justice?  I  was  summoned  here  this  morning,  but  I  don't 
regret  it,  as  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you." 

"  The  same  by  myself,"  said  la  Peyrade.  "  I  am  enchanted 
to  see  you,  but  I  must  leave  you.  I  have  an  appointment. 
You,  too,  have  to  go  on  the  floor." 

"  I've  been,"  said  Thuillier. 

'•'  Your  intimate  enemy  is  in  that  court,  Olivier  Vinet. 
Did  you  speak  to  him?"  asked  la  Peyrade. 

"  No,  I  didn't  see  him,"  and  he  named  another  judge. 

^'  Tiens  /  that's  queer,"  said  the  barrister.  "He's  held 
court  there  since  morning  ;  he  has  just  given  a  decision  in  a 
case  I  pleaded." 

Thuillier  colored,  and,  making  the  best  of  his  blunder  : 

"  By  the  Virgin,"  said  he,  "  I  cannot  tell  one  of  you  gen- 
tlemen of  the  robe  from  the  other." 

La  Peyrade  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  said  to  himself 
aloud  : 

"  Always  the  same  man  !  Cunning,  wriggling,  never  going 
straightforward." 

"Of  whom  do  you  speak?"  asked  Thuillier,  rather  non- 
plussed. 

"  Why  of  you,  my  dear ;  do  you  take  me  for  an  idiot  ?  As 
if  I  and  everybody  else  did  not  know  that  your  pamphlet  affair 
tumbled  overhead  two  weeks  ago.  Why  then  should  you  be 
summoned  on  the  floor  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  was  something  about  fees — it's  all  Greek  to  me," 
said  Thuillier. 
21 


322  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  And  they  choose  the  precise  day  that  the  *  Mouiteur '  tells 
of  the  resignation  of  the  ministry,  that  made  you  think  of  the 
twelfth  arrondissemcnt,  eh?" 

"And  why  not?"  answered  Thuillier,  "what  has  paying 
my  fees  to  do  with  my  candidacy?" 

"  I'll  tell  you  why,"  said  la  Peyradc,  drily.  "  The  court 
is  essentially  amiable  and  complaisant.  '  Tiens,^  it  said  to 
itself,  '  here  is  the  good  Thuillier  a  candidate  for  the  lower 
Chamber ;  how  hampered  he  is  with  the  attitude  his  ex- 
friend  la  Peyrade  has  assumed  ;  he  wishes  now  that  he  hadn't 
quarreled  with  him  ;  let  us  summons  him  for  the  fees  he 
doesn't  owe;  that  will  bring  him  to  the  Palais  where  la  Pey- 
rade comes  daily,  thus  he  can  meet  him  by  chance,  and  avoid 
taking  a  step  which  would  bruise  his  self-love.'  " 

"Well,  that's  just  where  you  are  wrong,"  replied  Thuillier, 
breaking  the  ice  ;  "I  used  so  little  cunning,  as  you  call  it,  as 
to  go  to  your  house,  and  your  porter  told  me  you  were  here." 

"Ah  !  that's  better,"  said  la  Peyrade.  "  I  can  get  along 
with  folk  who  play  straight.  Have  you  come  to  talk  about 
your  election  ?     I've  already  begun  to  work  on  it." 

"Truly?"  said  Thuillier.     "How?" 

"Here,"  said  la  Peyrade,  feeling  under  his  robe  for  a 
pocket  and  bringing  forth  a  paper,  "read  this;  it's  what  I 
scribbled  while  the  barrister  on  the  other  side  was  arguing." 

The  paper  read  thus : 

ESTIMATE    FOR   A   PAPER,    QUARTO   SIZE,    AT   THIRTY    FRANCS 
A   YEAR. 

Calculating  the  edition  at  five  thousand,  the  costs  per 
month  are : 

Francs. 

Paper,  five  reams  at  12  fr i860 

Composition 2400 

Printing 450 

Editor 250 

One  clerk 100 

Amount  carried  forward 5060 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  32S 

Francs. 

Amount  brought  forward 5060 

Managing  editor,  also  cashier 200 

Delivery  clerk   lOO 

Folders I20 

Office  boy 80 

Wrappers  and  office  expenses 150 

Rent 100 

License  stamps  and  postage 75°° 

Editing  and  reporting 1 800 

Total  per  month 15."° 

"       '«   annum    181,320 

"  Do  you  want  to  start  a  paper  ?  "  asked  Thuillier  in  dismay. 

*' I,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I  want  nothing  at  all;  it  is  you 
that  ask  to  be  made  a  deputy," 

**  Undoubtedly ;  but  consider,  my  dear  fellow,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty-one  thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty 
francs  to  plank  down.  Have  I  fortune  large  enough  to  meet 
the  demand  ?" 

"Yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "seeing  the  end  you  have  in 
view.  In  England  they  make  far  greater  sacrifice  to  get  a 
seat  in  Parliament,  but  some  of  the  cost  could  be  altogether 
cut  off.  You  don't  need  a  manager — you  are  an  old  account- 
ant, I  am  an  old  journalist,  we  can  well  manage  that — rent 
we  needn't  reckon;  your  old  room,  still  vacant,  in  the  Rue 
Saint-Dominique  would  make  a  fine  ofiice." 

"  But  does  a  newspaper  seem  to  you  to  be  essential  ?  " 

"  So  much  so  that  unless  we  have  that  power  in  our  hands 
I  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  the  election.  You  do  not 
live  in  the  quarter  any  more,  your  election  could  be  balked 
by  one  word — the  one  the  English  call  absenteeism.  This 
makes  a  hard  game  of  it." 

"I  admit  that,"  said  Thuillier,  "but  the  paper  needs  a 
name,  and " 

"You  don't  suppose  that  I  intend  we  should  start  a  new 


324  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

paper,  not  much.  Here  is  one  ready  made,  the  '  Echo  de  la 
Bidvre,*  a  treasure  for  a  man  standing  in  the  twelfth  arron- 
dissement.     Only  say  the  word  and  I  place  it  in  your  hands." 

"How?"  asked  Thuillier. 

**  Parbleu  !  by  buying  it ;  it  can  be  had  for  a  song." 

"See  there,  now,"  said  Thuillier,  "you  never  counted  in 
the  cost  of  purchase." 

"That's  nothing,"  said  la  Peyrade,  with  a  shrug  of  his 
shoulders;  "  there  are  other  difficulties  to  solve." 

"Other  difficulties  !  "  echoed  Thuillier. 

"Why,  do  you  for  one  moment  imagine,"  exclaimed  la 
Peyrade,  "  that,  after  all  that  has  taken  place  between  us,  I 
should  boldly  go  in  for  your  election  without  knowing  ex- 
actly what  I  am  to  get  for  my  services  ?  " 

"But,"  said  Thuillier,  somewhat  astonished,  "I  thought 
friendship  was  a  full  exchange  for  services." 

"  Certainly  ;  but  when  the  exchange  always  consists  in  one 
side  giving  all  and  the  other  side  nothing,  friendship  is  in- 
clined to  grow  stale.  It  asks  for  a  rather  more  equitable 
settlement." 

"  But,  ray  dear  fellow,  what  then  can  I  offer  that  you  have 
not  refused  ?  " 

"  I  refused  because  the  offer  was  not  frankly  and  heartily 
made,  beside  being  seasoned  with  Mademoiselle  Brigitte's 
special  brand  of  vinegar ;  any  self-respecting  man  would  have 
played  the  same  part  that  I  did.  You  cannot  give  a  thing 
and  keep  it  is  an  axiom  in  law,  but  you  persisted  in  trying  so 
to  do." 

"  I  think  you  were  unreasonable,  but  I  have  always  treated 
you  in  good  faith.     What  guarantees  do  you  want?  " 

"  I  ask  that  it  shall  be  Celeste's  husband  that  manages 
your  election,  and  not  Theodose  de  la  Peyrade." 

"Well,  hurry  as  we  might,"  said  Thuillier,  "as  Brigitte 
said,  it  would  take  fifteen  days,  and  just  think  two  weeks 
wasted  out  of  the  eight  we  have  before  us." 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  325 

"  The  banns  can  be  published  the  day  after  to-morrow,  for 
the  first  time  in  the  mayor's  office ;  then,  though  the  banns 
is  not  a  step  from  which  there  is  no  retreat,  it  is  at  least  a 
pledge  before  the  public  and  a  stride  in  the  right  direction  ; 
then  your  notary  can  draw  the  contract  immediately.  In 
addition,  if  you  buy  the  paper,  that  will  be  another  reason 
why  you  wouldn't  go  back  on  me,  for  the  gun  will  be  too 
heavy  for  you  to  handle  for  me  to  be  afraid  of  your  trying  to 
fire  it  alone." 

"  Very  good,  my  dear,"  said  Thuillier.  "Look  properly 
after  my  interests.     If  the  paper  is  all  right,  we'll  buy  it." 

**  Then  I,  on  my  part,  will  do  everything  for  you  as  if  it 
were  for  myself,  which,  by-the-by,  is  not  altogether  an 
hypothesis  ;  I  have  even  now  received  suggestions  touching 
my  own  candidacy  ;  if  I  were  vindictive " 

•' Certainly,"  said  Thuillier,  with  humility,  "you  would 
make  a  better  deputy  than  I.  But  you,  it  seems  to  me,  are 
not  of  legal  age." 

"There  is  a  much  better  reason  than  that — you  are  my 
friend ;  I  find  you  again  what  you  had  been  before.  As  for 
the  election,  I  would  rather  hear :  'He  makes  deputies,  but 
will  not  be  made  one.'  Now  I  must  leave  you  to  keep  my 
appointment ;  come  to  my  office  to-morrow  and  see  me." 

Who  that  has  ever  been  a  newspaper-man  will  ever  be  one : 
that  horoscope  is  as  sure  as  that  of  drunkards. 

Whoever  has  tasted  of  that  feverish  occupation  and  relative 
idleness  and  independence ;  whoever  has  exercised  that  sover- 
eignty which  criticises  intellect,  art,  genius,  glory,  virtue, 
absurdity,  and  even  truth  itself;  whoever  has  ascended  the 
tribune  erected  by  his  own  hands,  fulfilled  for  only  one  short 
hour  the  functions  of  that  censorship  to  which  he  is  self- 
appointed,  that  proxy  of  the  public's  opinion,  looks  upon 
himself  when  retired  to  private  life  as  royalty  did  at  Cher- 
bourg— in  lonely  exile ;  the  moment  a  chance  offers  he 
thrusts  forth  a  hand  eager  to  again  clutch  the  crown. 


326  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

For  the  reason  that  la  Peyrade  had  once  been  a  journalist, 
when  Lousteau  placed  within  his  grasp  the  weapon  known  as 
the  "Echo  de  la  Bidvre,"  all  his  instincts  as  a  newspaper- 
man were  revived,  notwithstanding  the  inferior  quality  of  the 
blade.  The  paper  had  failed  ;  la  Peyrade  was  sure  he  could 
revivify  it.  The  barrister  threatened  with  being  disbarred 
had  at  once  a  certain  situation ;  he  could  hold  it  as  a  de- 
tached fort  and  compel  his  enemies  to  reckon  with  him.  The 
Thuilliers  would  be  bound  to  him  by  ties  of  self-interest,  for 
their  capital  would  be  involved  in  the  business ;  therefore,  he 
need  not  fear  their  caprices  or  ingratitude.  The  cost  of 
the  purchase  was  absolutely  low ;  a  bank-bill  for  five  hundred 
francs,  for  which  Etienne  Lousteau  never  satisfactorily  ac- 
counted to  the  shareholders,  put  Thuillier  in  full  ownership 
of  the  title,  property,  furniture,  and  good-will  of  the  paper, 
which  they  at  once  proceeded  to  reorganize. 

During  the  operation  of  this  regeneration  C^rizet  one  morn- 
ing called  upon  du  Portail,  with  whom  more  than  ever  la  Pey- 
rade was  determined  to  hold  no  communication. 

"  Well,"  said  the  little  old  man,  "  what  effect  had  the  news 
we  gave  the  president  of  the  association  on  our  man  ?  " 

*<Phew!"  said  Cerizet,  whose  frequent  intercourse  with 
du  Portail  had  made  him  more  familiar;  "there's  no  more 
any  question  of  that  now ;  the  eel  has  slipped  away  again  ; 
neither  gentleness  nor  violence  has  any  effect  on  that  devil  of 
a  man  ;  he  has  quarreled  with  the  association,  but  is  thicker 
than  ever  with  the  Thuilliers.  'Necessity,'  says  Figaro,  'an- 
nihilates distance.'  Thuillier  needs  him  for  his  candidature 
in  the  St.  James'  quarter,  so  they  kissed  and  made  friends." 

** Doubtless  the  marriage  is  arranged  for  an  early  date?" 
asked  du  Portail. 

"Quite  so,"  said  Cerizet;  "and  then  there's  another  ma- 
chine to  work ;  that  crazy  fellow  has  induced  Thuillier  to  buy 
a  newspaper;  he'll  let  them  in  for  forty  thousand  francs. 
When  Thuillier  once  gets  fairly  involved  he'll  want  to  get 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  327 

his  money  back,  so  I  expect  to  see  them  stick  together  for  the 
rest  of  their  lives." 

"What  paper  is  it?"  asked  du  Portail,  indifferently, 

"A  cabbage  leaf  called  the  'Echo  de  la  Bievre,'  a  jour- 
nal," said  Cerizet,  scornfully,  "that  an  old  journalist  set  up 
by  the  help  of  a  lot  of  tanners  in  the  Mouffetard  quarter — 
the  location  of  that  trade," 

"Well,  for  a  local  service  it  is  not  such  a  bad  venture," 
said  du  Portail.  "  La  Peyrade  is  talented,  active,  and  has  a 
bright  intellect ;  he  may  make  the  '  Echo  '  resound.  Under 
what  banner  does  Messire  Thuillier  present  himself?" 

"  Thuillier  !  "  replied  the  banker  of  the  poor ;  "  he  has  no 
more  opinion  than  an  oyster.  Until  he  published  his  pam- 
phlet he  was  like  all  the  rest  of  those  bourgeois,  a  conserva- 
tive ;  but  since  its  seizure  he  has  gone  over  to  the  Opposition. 
Self-interest  for  these  people  is  the  mainspring  of  their  con- 
victions." 

"Pesie/^^  said  du  Portail;  "  this  combination  of  our  bar- 
rister may  rise  to  the  importance  of  becoming  a  political 
danger  from  my  view,  which  is  conservative  and  govern- 
mental. I  believe,"  said  he,  after  a  reflective  pause,  "that 
you  worked  on  a  newspaper  once  upon  a  time ;  you,  '  Cerizet 
the  Brave.'  " 

"Yes,  and  finely  la  Peyrade  and  I  got  paid  for  it,"  replied 
the  usurer. 

"Well,"  said  du  Portail,  "why  don't  you  go  into  jour- 
nalism again  ?" 

Cerizet  regarded  du  Portail  with  dumb  amazement. 

"Ah  fa/"  said  he  at  last.  "Are  you  the  devil,  monsieur 
the  gentleman,  that  nothing  remains  hidden  from  you?" 

"Yes,"  said  du  Portail,  "  I  know  a  few  things.  But  what 
is  arranged  between  you  and  la  Peyrade?  " 

"Just  this;  he  remembered  my  experience  in  the  business, 
and,  not  knowing  whom  else  to  employ,  offered  me  the  man- 
agement of  the  paper." 


328  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"I  did  not  know  that,  but  I  thought  it  very  likely,"  said 
du  Portail.     "  Did  you  accept  ?  " 

"  Conditionally.  I  asked  time  for  reflection.  I  wished  to 
know  what  you  thought  of  the  offer." 

^^Parbleu  /  I  think  that  out  of  evil  good  may  come,  es- 
pecially when  it  cannot  be  avoided.  I  had  rather  see  you  in- 
side than  outside  that  concern." 

"Very  good,  but  to  get  in  there's  this  difficulty:  La  Pey- 
rade  is  well  aware  that  I  have  debts;  he  won't  help  me  with 
the  security  for  thirty-three  thousand  francs  which  must  be 
posted  in  my  name.  I  haven't  got  that  amount,  and  if  I  had 
I  should  not  care  for  it  to  be  known  and  thus  expose  myself  to 
my  creditors. " 

"You  have  still  a  good  part  of  that  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  left  that  la  Peyrade  paid  you  not  more  than  two  months 
ago;  is  it  not  so?  " 

**  Just  two  thousand  two  hundred  francs  and  fifty  centimes," 
replied  Cerizet ;  "I  cast  it  up  last  night.  The  remainder 
went  to  pay  off  pressing  debts." 

**  But  if  you  have  paid  your  debts  you  can't  have  cred- 
itors." 

"Yes,  those  I  paid  I  don't  owe;  but  those  I  didn't  pay  I 
still  owe,"  said  Cerizet. 

"You  don't  mean  to  tell  me  that  you  owed  more  than 
twenty-five  tkousand  francs?"  said  du  Portail,  incredu- 
lously. 

"Would  a  man  go  into  bankruptcy  for  less ? "  asked  he, 
as  though  stating  an  axiom, 

"I  see  I've  got  to  stand  the  money  myself,"  said  du  Por- 
tail, with  some  anger;  "but  the  question  is:  whether  your 
presence  in  the  job  is  worth  to  me  the  interest  represented  by 
three  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  francs  and  thirty-three  centimes?" 

"Z>(zw<f./"  said  Cerizet;  "if  I  were  only  installed  there  I 
would  very  soon  have  la  Peyrade  and  Thuillier  at  loggerheads. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  329 

In  the  business  of  running  a  newspaper  there  are  constant  dis- 
agreements arising ;  now  by  taking  the  side  of  the  ninny 
against  the  clever  man  you  increase  the  conceit  of  the  one  and 
wound  that  of  the  other  that  it  soon  becomes  impossible  for 
them  to  work  together.  Beside,  if,  as  you  just  now  intimated, 
a  shove  now  and  again  in  the  direction  of  political  danger 
would  assist " 

"Tliere's  some  truth  in  that,"  said  du  Portail;  "la 
Peyrade's  defeat  is  the  aim." 

"I've  another  gun  to  fire  which  would  help  to  demolish 
him  in  the  Thuilliers'  estimation." 

"Speak  out  then  and  let  me  know  what  it  is,"  said  du 
Portail,  irritably ;  "  you  beat  about  the  bush  the  same  as  if  I 
were  a  man  that  could  be  finessed." 

"You  remember,"  said  Cdrizet,  "that  some  time  ago  we 
wondered  where  la  Peyrade  obtained  the  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  with  which  he  paid  Dutocq  off?  " 

"Ha!"  said  the  gentleman,  eagerly;  "have  you  dis- 
covered the  origin  of  that  very  improbable  sum  in  the  hands 
of  the  barrister?" 

"Here  it  is,"  said  C^rizet. 

Then  he  related  the  whole  details  of  Mme.  Lambert's  affair, 
but  he  acknowledged  that  all  the  sharp  cross-questions  of 
Dutocq  and  himself  had  failed  to  elicit  a  confession  from  her ; 
but  that  both  were  convinced  by  her  manner  of  the  correct- 
ness of  their  suspicions. 

Du  Portail  took  the  address  of  Mme.  Lambert  and  told 
Cdrizet  to  come  and  see  him  again  on  the  morrow,  adding : 

"  Accept  la  Peyrade's  offer,  but  ask  for  a  delay  of  twenty- 
four  hours  in  which  to  obtain  your  security;  if  I  find  it  to 
my  interest  I  will  furnish  it — if  not,  you  can  get  out  of  it  by 
breaking  your  promise;  you  can't  be  sent  to  the  court  of 
assize  for  that." 

Independently  of  an  inexplicable  kind  of  fascination  that 
he  exercised  over  his   agent,   du    Portail   never   missed   an 


330  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

occasion  to  remind  him  of  the  very  shady  commencement  of 
their  intercourse. 

The  next  day,  when  Cdrizet  was  again  with  the  gentle- 
man : 

"You  guessed  rightly,"  said  du  Portail;  "compelled  to 
hide  the  existence  of  her  booty,  the  woman,  Lambert,  who 
desired  to  draw  some  interest  out  of  it,  formed  the  idea  of 
placing  it  in  la  Peyrade's  hands ;  his  devotional  exterior  may 
have  suggested  this  to  her ;  she  most  probably  gave  him  the 
money  without  taking  any  receipt.  In  what  kind  of  money 
was  Dutocq  paid  ? ' ' 

"In  nineteen  bills  of  one  thousand  francs  each,  and  twelve 
of  five  hundred  francs." 

"That's  it,  exactly,"  said  du  Portail;  "there  is  no  longer 
room  for  doubt.  Now  how  do  you  intend  to  use  this  infor- 
mation to  bear  upon  Thuillier?  " 

"I  shall  tell  him  that  la  Peyrade  borrows  enormous  secret 
loans ;  that  he  means  to  gnaw  the  profits  of  the  newspaper  to 
the  bone ;  that  the  position  of  a  man  before  the  public  must 
be  compromised  when  it  is  known  what  manner  of  person  his 
right  hand  is,"  said  Cerizet. 

"That's  all  right,"  said  du  Portail,  "but  Thuillier  has  not 
as  yet  learned  who  prompted  that  seizure  of  his  pamphlet, 
has  he?" 

"Yes,  he  has,"  replied  Cerizet;  "la  Peyrade  was  telling 
me  yesterday,  when  he  was  explaining  Thuillier's  simplicity, 
that  he  gave  him  a  silly  humbugging,  informing  him  that  the 
seizure  was  instigated  by  Olivier  Vinet's  father,  because  that 
young  man  had  once  aspired  to  Mademoiselle  Colleville's 
hand  and  been  refused." 

"Better  and  better,"  said  du  Portail;  "well,  to-morrow 
he  shall  receive  a  sharp  note  from  Monsieur  Vinet  denying  in 
full  any  such  abuse  of  power — this  will  do  as  a  basis  for  your 
other  versions." 

"Yes?"  asked  Cerizet,  inquisitively. 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  331 

"Another  explanation  must  be  given,"  continued  du 
Portail ;  ''you  can  assure  Thuillier  that  he  is  the  victim  of  the 
machinations  of  the  police.  You  know  that  that  is  all  the 
police  are  good  for — machinations?" 

"  Perfectly,"  said  the  usurer;  "  I  have  sworn  to  that  twenty 
times  when  I  worked  on  a  Republican  newspaper  and " 

"When  you  were  the  'brave  Cerizet,' "  interrupted  du 
Portail.  "But  for  the  present  machination  here  it  is:  The 
government  was  much  annoyed  to  see  Thuillier  elected  to  the 
Council  without  ministerial  influence;  it  did  not  care  to  see 
an  independent  and  patriotic  citizen,  who  showed  he  could 
do  without  its  aid  ;  it  further  learned  that  this  distinguished 
citizen  was  writing  a  pamphlet  on  finance,  always  a  delicate 
subject^  so  what  then  did  this  corrupt  government  do,  why  it 
suborned  a  man  in  whom  it  was  thought  Thuillier  had  every 
confidence  and  for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand  francs — a 
mere  bagatelle  to  the  police — this  treacherous  friend  agreed  to 
insert  a  few  dangerous  phrases  which  should  expose  it  to 
seizure  and  cause  the  arrest  of  its  author.  Then  clinch  it  by 
telling  him  that  the  very  next  day  la  Peyrade,  whom  Thuillier 
knows  had  not  a  sou,  paid  Dutocq  that  said  amount  of  twenty- 
five  thousand  francs." 

"  The  devil !"  said  Cerizet.  "  That's  a  good  trick.  All 
Thuillier's  species  believe  anything  that's  said  about  the 
police." 

*'  Well,  he  did  you  out  of  the  lease  and  you  are  aiming  at 
his  happiness,  so  you  need  have  no  compunctions  about  what 
you  do  in  this  matter,"  said  du  Portail. 

"It  is  a  fact,"  said  the  wily  usurer,"  that  such  an  event 
will  absolve  me.  Yes,  I'll  do  as  you  wish ;  I  follow  the 
road  you  have  pointed  out.  Still  there's  another  thing :  I 
cannot  in  my  first  appearance  step  up  and  make  my  revela- 
tion ;  that  will  need  some  time,  but  the  security  must  be  paid 
at  once." 

"Listen,    Monsieur   Cerizet,"    said   du   Portail j    "if  the 


S32  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

marriage  of  la  Peyrade  with  my  ward  takes  place  it  is  my 
intention  to  reward  your  services  with  thirty  thousand  francs; 
now  that  amount  on  one  side  and  twenty-five  thousand  on  the 
other,  you  will  get  in  all  fifty-five  thousand  francs  out  of  your 
friend  la  Pcyrade's  matrimonial  combinations.  Now  if  you 
risk  your  own  money  you  will  be  eager  to  do  the  best  for  my 
cause;  if  on  the  contrary  my  money  is  at  stake,  you  won't  be 
nearly  so  ingenious  in  your  dealings ;  if  you  are  successful 
you  will  gain  about  a  hundred  per  cent.  That's  my  last  word, 
I  don't  enter  into  any  argument." 

Cerizet  had  no  time  to  make  any,  for  at  this  moment  the 
door  of  the  office  opened  and  a  fair,  slender  woman,  whose 
features  showed  angelic  sweetness,  came  hastily  into  the 
room. 

On  her  arm,  wrapped  in  long,  beautiful  clothes,  lay  the 
form  of  an  infant. 

"There,"  said  she,  "that  wicked  Katt ;  she  told  me  that 
you  were  not  the  doctor ;  I  knew  better ;  yes,  I  saw  you  come 
in.  Well,  doctor,"  she  went  on,  addressing  Cerizet,  "I  am 
not  at  all  satisfied  with  the  baby's  condition  ;  she  is  pale,  she 
has  grown  so  thin.     I  think  it  must  be  her  teeth." 

Du  Portail  made  a  sign  to  Cerizet  to  take  up  the  role  so  sud- 
denly thrust  upon  him,  and  which  in  some  sense  reminded 
him  of  the  part  he  had  assigned  himself  in  connection  with 
Mme.  Cardinal. 

"Evidently,"  replied  he,  "  it  is  the  teeth  ;  children  always 
grow  pallid  at  such  times ;  but  there's  nothing,  madame,  that 
need  make  you  anxious." 

"You  really  think  so,  doctor,"  answered  the  crazed  girl — 
whom  the  reader,  without  a  doubt,  will  guess  to  be  Lydie,  du 
Portail's  ward — "  but  see  her  poor  arms,  look  how  thin  they 
have  become,  they  have  dwindled  to  nothing." 

Then  taking  out  the  pins  that  held  the  outer  wrappings,  she 
showed  Cdrizet  a  bundle  of  rags  which,  to  her  poor  intellect, 
represented  a  sweet  red  and  white  baby. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  3o3 

"  But  no,  no,"  said  Cerizet ;  *'  she  is  a  little  thin,  perhaps, 
but  the  flesh  is  clear  and  firm  and  color  excellent." 

"  Poor  darling !  "  said  Lydie,  kissing  her  dream  lovingly. 
"  What  had  1  better  give  her,  doctor  ?  She  won't  take  pap 
and  soup  disgusts  her." 

"  Does  she  like  sweet  things?  " 

"Oh!  immensely,"  said  the  crazy  girl,  brightening  up, 
"  she  loves  them  ;  is  chocolate  good  for  her  ?  " 

"Certainly,"  said  Cerizet,  "but  without  vanilla;  vanilla 
is  heating." 

"Then  I'll  get  health  chocolate,"  said  Lydie,  with  all  the 
intonations  of  a  mother  who  listens  to  the  assurances  of  the 
doctor  as  to  the  voice  of  a  god.  "  Uncle,"  said  she,  address- 
ing du  Portail,  "ring  for  Bruno  and  tell  him  to  fetch  some 
pounds  from  Marquis." 

"Bruno  has  just  gone  out,"  he  replied,  "but  there  is  no 
hurry  ;  later  in  the  day  will  do." 

"  See  now,"  said  Cerizet,  "  she  has  gone  to  sleep,"  for  he 
was  anxious,  hardened  as  he  was,  to  put  an  end  to  this  painful 
scene. 

"True,"  said  Lydie,  as  she  replaced  the  bandages;  "I'll 
put  her  to  bed.  Farewell,  doctor  ;  if  you  doctors  knew  what 
good  you  can  do  a  poor  anxious  mother,  you  would  come 
more  frequently.     Oh!  she  is  crying." 

"She  is  so  sleepy,"  said  Cerizet;  "she'll  be  much  better 
in  her  cradle." 

"  Yes,  and  I'll  play  her  that  sonato  that  my  dear  papa  used 
to  like — the  one  from  Beethoven ;  it  is  very  charming.  Fare- 
well, doctor,"  and  she  threw  him  a  kiss  from  the  threshold 
of  the  door. 

Cerizet  was  quite  overcome. 

"You  see,"  said  du  Portail,  "  she  is  an  angel,  always  the 
same,  never  the  least  ill-temper,  nor  a  cross  word  ;  sometimes 
sad,  but  ever  with  a  motherly  solicitude.  This  it  is  that  first 
gave  the  doctors  an  idea  that  if  the  reality  replaced  the  hallu- 


334  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

cination,  she  might  recover  her  reason.  Well,  this  is  the  girl 
that  ass  of  a  la  Peyrade  refused,  with  the  accompaniment  of  a 
handsome  dot.  But  it  has  got  to  come  to  pass  or  I  perjure  my 
name.  Listen  !  "  he  added,  as  the  tones  of  a  piano  were  heard ; 
"hark!  what  talent !  A  mad  woman  !  why  there  are  a  hun- 
dred thousand  sane  women  who  are  not  to  be  compared  to 
her  except  on  the  surface." 

When  the  sound  of  the  playing  ceased,  Cerizet  heard  a 
woman's  voice  which  was  not  that  of  Lydie. 

"  Is  he  in  his  office,  the  dear  commander?"  said  a  voice 
with  a  foreign  accent. 

"  Yes,  madame  ;  but  enter  the  salon,  monsieur  is  not  alone ; 
I  will  inform  him  you  are  here." 

And  this  last  was  the  voice  of  Katt,  the  old  Dutch  house- 
keeper. 

"Here — this  way  out,"  said  du  Portail  to  Cerizet  with 
sharpness.  And  he  opened  a  hidden  door  which  led  through 
a  dark  passage  and  on  to  the  stairs. 

The  salutatory  article  by  which  new  editors  of  every  news- 
paper lay  their  "profession  of  faith"  before  the  public  is 
always  a  laborious  and  difficult  case  of  child-birth.  In  this 
case  it  was  necessary  that  Thuillier's  candidature  should  be 
hinted  at  at  least.  The  terms  of  this  manifesto,  after  la  Pey- 
rade had  drawn  a  rough  draft  of  it,  had  resulted  in  a  long 
discussion.  This  debate  took  place  before  Cerizet,  who  had 
accepted  the  management  but  postponed  the  payment  of  the 
security  through  the  days  of  grace  allowed  in  all  changes  of 
proprietorship,  such  as  is  allowed  to  the  new  officials. 

The  discussion  was  assisted  by  the  facile  master-knave  who 
had  constituted  himself  Thuillier's  flatterer  from  the  start ;  it 
more  than  once  grew  stormy,  then  bitter,  but  as  the  deed  of 
partnership  left  all  decision  as  to  the  editing  to  la  Peyrade,  he 
finally  closed  the  matter  by  sending  the  manifesto  to  the 
printer  exactly  as  he  had  first  written  it. 

Thuillier  was  furious  at  what  he  called  an  abuse  of  power, 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  335 

and  on  the  following  day,  finding  himself  alone  with  Cerizct, 
he  hastened  to  pour  his  woes  and  grievances  into  the  bosom 
of  his  faithful  manager;  this  gave  a  natural  chance  to  in- 
sinuate the  calumnious  revelations  already  plotted  with  the 
man  in  the  Rue  Honore-Chevalier. 

This  insinuation  was  presented  with  such  art,  with  such  skill 
and  moderation,  that  it  would  have  duped  a  much  shrewder 
soul  than  Thuillier's.  Cerizet  appeared  alarmed  at  having 
been  entrapped  into  the  betrayal  of  a  secret,  wrung  from  him 
by  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  and  a  sympathy  which  had  been 
commanded  by  "  the  lofty  mind  and  character  which  from 
the  first  had  struck  him  about  Monsieur  Thuillier."  The 
latter  reassured  the  traitor  that  he  should  never  be  brought 
into  the  inquiry,  which  must  of  necessity  follow  such  an 
alarming  statement ;  he  would  say  that  other  parties  had  in- 
formed him ;  if  necessary  he  would  throw  suspicion  upon 
Dutocq. 

The  scene  had  taken  place  at  the  newspaper  office.  Since 
he  had  concluded  the  purchase  Thuillier  came  to  the  office 
two  hours  before  it  was  necessary ;  he  spent  his  day  there  and 
wore  everybody  out  with  his  ardent  activity.  Now,  being 
filled  with  this  terrible  revelation,  he  could  not  keep  it  to 
himself,  he  wished  to  unburden  himself  to  some  one.  He 
sent  for  a  hack  and  half  an  hour  after  had  confided  the  whole 
story  to  his  Egeria. 

Brigitte  from  the  first  had  vehemently  opposed  any  further 
relations  with  la  Peyrade,  not  even  for  the  purpose  of  Thu- 
illier's election  would  she  make  up  with  him.  In  the  first 
place  she  had  treated  him  badly,  a  good  reason  for  disliking 
him;  then  she  feared  that  if  he  married  Cdleste  she  would 
lose  much  of  her  authority,  for  her  second-sight  showed  her 
some  of  the  depths  of  his  nature.  So  up  to  the  present  she 
had  met  her  brother  with  fierce  opposition  in  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  newspaper : 

"Ruin  yourself,  my  dear,"  said  she  to  Thuillier,  **  you  are 


336  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

your  own  master  and  can  do  as  you  like  ;  what  comes  in  by 
the  flute  goes  out  by  the  drum." 

When,  therefore,  her  brother  related  his  confidences  she 
did  not  reproach  him,  but  gave  a  crow  of  triumph  in  honor 
of  her  own  perceptions, 

"So  much  the  better,"  she  exclaimed;  "it  is  as  well  to 
know  at  last  that  he  is  a  spy.  I  always  thought  so,  a  mean 
sneak.  Throw  him  out  of  doors  without  any  explanation. 
We  don't  need  him,  we  can  run  the  paper  without  him.  That 
Monsieur  Cerizet,  who,  from  what  you  say,  is  after  all  a  right 
good  fellow,  can  easily  find  us  somebody  in  his  place." 

"How  fast  you  go,"  said  Thuillier.  "La  Peyrade,  my 
dear,  has  only  been  accused,  he  must  be  granted  a  hearing ; 
beside  a  deed  binds  us." 

"Oh!  very  well,"  said  Brigitte,  "  I  see  the  whole  thing; 
you'll  let  that  man  twist  you  round  his  finger  ;  a  deed  with  a 
spy;  as  if  deeds  would  stand  with  such  fellows." 

"Come,  come,  be  calm,  my  dear  Brigitte,"  replied  Thu- 
illier, "  we  must  not  act  too  hastily ;  if  a  justification,  clear, 
categorical,  and  convincing,  is  not  forthcoming,  I  shall  break 
with  him  ;  I'll  prove  that  I  am  not  a  plucked  chicken.  Ceri- 
zet himself  is  not  certain;  they  are  only  his  deductions; 
why  I  came  to  you  was  to  see  what  you  thought  about  de- 
manding an  explanation." 

"  Certainly,  and  if  you  don't  get  to  the  bottom  of  this 
affair  I'll  cast  you  off  as  my  brother." 

"That  is  sufficient,"  said  Thuillier,  solemnly;  "you  will 
find  that  we  have  one  mind  in  such  matters." 

Thuillier  found  la  Peyrade  at  his  post  as  editor-in-chief; 
but  during  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour  he  had  found  himself 
in  a  position  of  much  embarrassment,  caused  by  his  high- 
handed assumption  of  being  the  sole  selector  of  articles  and 
contributors.  Phellion  pressed  by  his  family,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence of  being  on  the  reading  committee  of  the  Od6on, 
had  come  to  offer  himself  as  dramatic  critic. 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  337 

"My  dear,  sir,"  said  he,  addressing  la  Peyrade,  after  hav- 
ing asked  Thuillier  as  to  his  health,  "  I  was  a  good  student 
of  the  theatre  in  my  youth  ;  the  play  and  its  scenery  have 
during  my  life  had  an  especial  attraction  for  me  ;  the  white 
hairs  which  now  crown  my  brow  do  not  seem  any  obstacle 
to  me  giving  you  some  very  profitable  and  interesting  studies 
from  my  experience.  As  a  member  of  the  reading  committee 
of  the  Odeon,  I  am  also  familiar  with  the  modern  drama ; 
and,  being  sure  of  your  discretion,  I  may  confidentially  in- 
form you  that  among  my  papers  it  would  not  be  impossible 
for  me  to  find  a  certain  tragedy  entitled  '  Sapor,'  which  in 
my  younger  days  gave  me  some  celebrity  when  read  in  draw- 
ing-rooms." 

"Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  trying  to  gild  the  inevitable 
refusal,  "  why  not  try  and  have  it  placed  on  the  stage  ?  We 
might  be  able  to  assist  you  on  that  line." 

"Certainly,"  said  Thuillier,  "  the  director  of  any  theatre, 
to  whom  we  should  introduce " 

"  No,"  replied  Phellion.  "  In  the  first  place,  as  a  member 
of  the  reading  committee  of  the  Odeon,  having  to  sit  in 
judgment  on  others,  it  would  ill  become  me  to  enter  the 
arena  myself.  I  am  an  old  athlete ;  my  part  is  now  to  judge 
of  the  blows  I  can  no  longer  deliver.  In  this  sense  criticism 
is  within  my  sphere,  the  more  so  as  I  have  some  quite  new 
ideas  on  the  correct  manner  in  which  theatrical  articles  should 
be  done.  Casiigat  ridettdo  mores,  by  my  humble  lights,  ought 
to  be  the  great  law,  I  might  even  say,  the  only  law  of  the 
stage.  Therefore  I  should  show  myself  merciless  in  dealing 
with  works  of  pure  imagination  in  which  morality  plays  no 
part,  and  which  the  ever-unerring  discretion  of  the  mothers  of 
families " 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  for  interrupting  you,  but 
before   allowing   you   to   take   the  trouble  to  develop   your 
poetical  theories,  I  ought  to  inform  you  that  our  arrangements 
for  the  dramatic  criticisms  are  already  completed." 
22 


338  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Ah!  that  is  different,"  said  Piiellion,  "an  honest  man 
must  keep  his  word." 

"Yes,"  said  Thuillier,  "we  have  our  dramatic  critic,  it 
was  far  beyond  our  hopes  that  you  would  offer  your  valuable 
collaboration." 

"Well,"  said  Phellion,  grown  somewhat  cunning — for 
there  is  something  in  the  newspaper  atmosphere  that  flies  to 
the  head,  especially  a  middle-class  head — "  as  you  think  that 
my  pen  might  be  susceptible  of  giving  you  good  service,  a 
series  of  detached  articles,  perhaps,  on  divers  subjects,  which 
I  should  venture  to  entitle  'varieties,'  might  be  of  an  inter- 
esting nature." 

"Yes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  with  a  maliciousness  that  was 
entirely  lost  upon  Phellion,  "  thoughts,  something  in  the 
style  of  Rochefoucauld  or  de  la  Bruydre,  these  might  do — 
what  say  you,  Thuillier  ?  " 

He  intended  leaving  the  matter  of  refusals,  as  far  as  possi- 
ble, with  the  proprietor. 

"But  I  should  imagine,"  said  Thuillier,  "that  detached 
thoughts  would  be  rather  wanting  in  connection." 

"Obviously,"  replied  Phellion,  "when  I  say  detached 
thoughts  I  imply  the  idea  of  a  great  range  of  subjects  over 
which  an  author  allows  his  pen  to  stray  without  presenting 
them  as  a  whole." 

"  Of  course  you  would  sign  every  communication  ?  "  queried 
la  Peyrade. 

"Oh,  no!  messieurs,"  replied  Phellion,  dismayed.  "I 
could  not  under  any  circumstances  place  myself  on  exhibition 
in  that  manner." 

"Your  modesty,  which  I  fully  comprehend  and  approve," 
said  la  Peyrade,  "  settles  the  matter.  Thoughts  are  individ- 
uals, they  require  personifying  by  a  name.  Of  this  you  your- 
self must  be  well  aware.  *  Sundry  Thoughts,  by  M.  Three- 
Stars,'  means  nothing  to  the  public." 

Seeing  that  Phellion  was  about  returning  to  the  charge, 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  339 

Thuillier,  who  was  in  a  hurry  to  get  his  hands  in  la  Peyradc's 
hair,  cut  him  off  rather  curtly  : 

"My  dear  Phcllion,"  said  he,  ''I  ask  your  excuses  for 
being  compelled  to  say  that  I  cannot  longer  be  able  to  enjoy 
your  conversation,  but  la  Peyrade  and  myself  have  to  consult 
on  a  matter  of  much  importance ;  in  a  newspaper  office — the 
time  flies  devilishly  fast.  If  you  wish,  we  will  postpone  the 
matter  till  a  later  day.  Madame  Phellion  and  Felix  are  well, 
I  trust?" 

*'  Perfectly,"  replied  the  great  citizen,  rising  and  not  seem- 
ing to  resent  his  dismissal.  ''When  does  the  first  number 
come  out  ?  "  he  added.  "It  is  eagerly  awaited  in  the  arron- 
dissement." 

"To-morrow,  I  think,"  said  Thuillier,  conducting  him  to 
the  door,  "  our  profession  of  faith  will  make  its  appearance. 
You  will  have  a  copy  sent  you,  my  dear  friend  ;  come  and  see 
us  again  and  bring  that  manuscript ;  la  Peyrade's  point  of 
view  is  not  absolute  here." 

This  balm  shed  on  the  wound,  and  Phellion  gone,  Thuil- 
lier rang  for  the  office  boy. 

"You  would  recognize  that  gentleman  again  who  just  went 
out?"  said  the  own  brother  of  Brigitte. 

"Yes,  m'sieu  ;  anybody  would  remember  that  funny  ball  of 
a  head;  and,  beside,  it's  M'sieu  Phellion;  I've  opened  the 
door  for  him  hundreds  of  times." 

"  Well,  whenever  he  comes  here  again,  neither  I  nor  Mon- 
sieur la  Peyrade  are  ever  in.  Don't  you  forget  the  prescrip- 
tion ;  now  leave  us." 

"The  devil!"  said  la  Peyrade,  when  they  were  alone, 
"  how  you  manage  bores.  But  lookout ;  sometimes  electors 
may  be  among  the  number;  you  were  right  in  promising 
Phellion  a  copy  of  the  paper;  he  possesses  influence  in  the 
quarter." 

"  Well,  he's  gone.  Now  be  seated ;  I  have  something  very 
serious  to  say  to  you/'  said  Thuillier. 


340  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Do  you  know,  my  dear  fellow,"  answered  la  Peyrade, 
laughing,  "  that  journalism  is  making  you  preternaturally  sol- 
emn ?  '  Be  seated,  Cinna  ' — Caesar  Augustus  would  have  said 
it  no  differently." 

"  Cinnas  are,  unfortunately,  more  numerous  than  people 
think,"  said  Thuillier. 

He  still  felt  Brigitte's  prod  and  he  intended  being  cuttingly 
ironical ;  the  top  still  rotated  under  the  lashing  it  had  received 
from  the  old  maid's  whip.  The  Provencal  was  seated  and  yet 
Thuillier  did  not  commence  ;  he  went  to  the  door,  which 
stood  ajar,  intending  to  close  it,  but  he  first  called  to  the 
office  boy  : 

"  Not  in  to  anybody,"  he  cried.  "  Now,  my  dear  fellow," 
added  he,  addressing  la  Peyrade,  "we  can  talk.  My  dear," 
said  Thuillier,  starting  with  sarcasm — for  he  had  heard  that 
this  was  a  good  way  to  nonplus  an  adversary — "  I  have  learned 
something  that  will  please  you :  I  now  know  why  the  pam- 
phlet was  seized." 

And  he  looked  fixedly  at  la  Peyrade. 

"Parbleu /'*  said  the  latter  in  a  natural  tone  of  voice,  "  it 
was  seized  because  they  wanted  to  seize  it.  They  sought  and 
found,  as  you  may  always  expect  them  to  find  the  things  they 
desire,  known  by  the  King's  adherents  as  'subversive  doc- 
trines.' " 

"  No,  you  are  wrong,"  replied  Thuillier  ;  "  the  seizure  was 
arranged  for,  concocted,  and  planned  beforehand." 

"  Between  whom  ?  "  asked  la  Peyrade. 

"  Between  those  who  desired  the  death  of  the  pamphlet 
and  the  miscreants  who  pledged  themselves  to  betray  it," 
said  Thuillier. 

"In  any  case  those  who  bought,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "got 
but  a  poor  bargain  ;  for,  persecuted  though  it  was,  I  don't  see 
that  it  made  much  noise." 

"But  what  about  the  vendors?"  said  the  more  than  ever 
ironical  Thuillier. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  341 

"Those  who  sold  were  the  smartest,  undoubtedly,"  said  la 
Peyrade. 

"  Oh  !  I  know  you  have  a  great  esteem  for  smartness ;  but 
permit  me  to  inform  you  that  the  police,  whose  hand  is  ap- 
parent in  all  this,  is  not  apt  to  throw  its  money  away." 

And  he  stared  anew  at  la  Peyrade. 

"So,"  replied  the  barrister,  without  blinking,  "you  have 
discovered  that  the  police  plotted  in  advance  to  smother  your 
pamphlet  ?  " 

"Yes,  my  dear  friend,  and  I  know  for  a  fact  to  whom  the 
money  was  paid  and  the  precise  amount  that  honorable  person 
received." 

"The  person,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "I  might  guess  the  per- 
son, but  as  to  the  amount  that  is  beyond  me." 

"Well,  lean  tell  you  that:  twenty-five  thousand  francs," 
said  Thuillier,  emphasizing  each  word ;  "  that  was  the  sum 
paid  to  Judas." 

"Allow  me,  my  dear,  twenty-five  thousand  francs  is  a  lot 
of  money.  I  won't  deny  that  you  are  a  most  important  man  ; 
nevertheless,  you  are  not  such  a  bugbear  to  the  government  as 
to  cause  them  to  make  such  a  sacrifice.  Twenty-five  thousand 
francs  is  as  much  as  they  would  give  for  the  suppression  of 
some  celebrated  pamphlet  against  the  administration  of  the 
civil  list;  but  our  lucubration  on  finance  was  not  bad  like 
that,  and  such  a  sum  taken  from  the  secret  service  fund  merely 
to  plague  you  seems  to  me  fabulously  great." 

"Apparently,"  replied  Thuillier,  with  bitterness,  "the 
honest  intermediary  may  have  exaggerated  my  value ;  one 
thing  is  certain,  this  monsieur  had  a  debt  of  twenty-five  thou- 
sand francs  which  was  a  great  worry  to  him  ;  and  a  short  time 
before  the  seizure  this  same  monsieur  all  at  once  found  means 
to  pay;  unless  you  can  tell  me  whence  he  obtained  that 
money,  I  don't  believe  it  is  very  hard  to  draw  the  infer- 
ence." 

In  his  turn  la  Peyrade  gazed  fixedly  at  Thuillier. 


342  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Monsieur  Thuillier,"  said  he,  raising  his  voice,  "let  us 
get  out  of  generalities  and  enigmas ;  this  person — will  you  do 
me  the  favor  to  name  him  ?  " 

"Well,  NO,"  said  Thuillier,  striking  the  table;  "I  shall 
not  name  him  because  of  the  sentiments  of  affection  which  at 
one  time  united  us ;  but  you  have  understood  me.  Monsieur 
de  la  Peyrade." 

"  It  is  a  fact,  I  should  have  understood,"  said  the  Provencal, 
in  a  voice  broken  with  emotion,  "that  in  introducing  a  ser- 
pent here  it  would  not  be  long  before  I  should  be  soiled  by 
its  venom.  Poor  fool,  you  !  don't  you  see  that  this  is  one  of 
C6rizet's  calumnies,  of  which  you  have  made  yourself  the 
echo." 

"  Cirizet  has  nothing  whatever  to  do  with  it ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  has  nothing  but  good  to  say  of  you ;  how  was  it  that 
you,  not  having  a  sou  the  night  before  (and  I  have  cause  to 
know  this),  that  you  were  able  to  pay  Dutocq  the  round  sum 
of  twenty-five  thousand  francs  the  next  day,  paid  in  bills  of 
a  known  denomination  ?  " 

La  Peyrade  reflected  a  moment. 

"No,"  said  he,  "  Dutocq  did  not  tell  you;  he  is  not  the 
man  who  dare  tackle  me  unless  it  would  be  of  great  benefit  to 
him.  The  infamous  calumniator  is  Cerizet,  from  whose  hands 
I  wrung  your  house  on  the  Madeleine — Cerizet  whom,  in  my 
kindness,  I  sought  on  his  own  dunghill  to  place  him  in  an  hon- 
orable position  ;  that  is  the  wretch  to  whom  a  benefit  is  only 
an  encouragement  to  further  treachery.  Tifns .'  if  I  should 
tell  you  what  manner  of  man  that  is,  I  should  fill  your  heart 
with  loathing ;  in  the  sphere  of  infamy  he  has  discovered  new 
worlds " 

Thuillier  this  time  made  an  apt  reply. 

"I  know  nothing  about  C6rizet  except  through  you,"  said 
he ;  "  you  it  was  who  offered  him  the  management,  giving 
every  assurance  that  he  was  reliable  ;  but,  by  making  him 
blacker  than  the  devil,  and  even  allowing  that  this  communi- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  343 

cation  comes  from  him,  I  don't  see,  my  boy,  that  it  makes  you 
any  the  whiter." 

"I  was,  without  doubt,  to  blame  in  bringing  him,  but  he 
understands  the  newspaper  business;  I  thought  he  had  re- 
formed, that  he  was  a  man  of  straw,  but  I  find  him  as  he  ever 
was,  a  man  of  mud," 

"That's  all  well  and  good,"  said  Thuillier,  "but  the 
twenty-five  thousand  francs  which  came  so  opportunely  into 
your  hands,  whence  came  they?  That  is  what  you  fail  to 
explain." 

"But  use  a  bit  of  commonsense,"  replied  la  Peyrade;  "a 
man  in  my  position  in  the  pay  of  the  police,  and  yet  so  poor 
that  I  could  not  throw  in  the  face  of  that  harpy,  your  sister, 
the  ten  thousand  francs  she  so  insolently  demanded  of  me." 

"  To  end  it  all,"  said  Thuillier,  "  if  the  origin  of  the  money 
is  honest,  as  I  am  most  anxious  to  believe,  what  prevents  you 
telling  me  who  gave  it  to  you? " 

"That  I  cannot  do,"  replied  the  barrister,  "  the  source  of 
that  cash  is  a  professional  secret." 

"  See  now,  you  told  me  yourself  that  the  rules  of  your  order 
prevented  your  entering  into  business  of  any  description." 

"  It  would  be  strange,  if  I  had  done  something  not  quite 
in  the  regular  course,  that  you  should  reproach  me  after  doing 
what  I  did  for  you  in  the  matter  of  the  house." 

"  My  poor  friend,  you  are  trying  to  put  the  hounds  off  the 
scent,  but  you  can't  put  me  off  the  track;  I  am  the  master  of 
my  confidence  and  esteem,  and,  if  I  pay  you  the  amount  stip- 
ulated in  the  deed,  I  take  the  paper  into  my  own  hands." 

"So  you  mean  to  turn  me  out!  "  exclaimed  la  Peyrade. 
"  The  money  you  have  put  into  this  business,  your  chances 
of  election,  all  sacrificed  on  one  calumny  brought  by  a  C6r- 
izet." 

"In  the  first  place,"  answered  Thuillier,  "a  new  editor-in- 
chief  can  soon  be  found  to  replace  you,  my  dear ;  they  said 
long  ago  that  no  man  is  indispensable.     As  to  the  election,  I 


344  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

would  sooner  not  win  it  than  owe  it  to  the  help  of  one 
who ' ' 

"Go  ahead  !  "  said  la  Peyrade,  seeing  that  Thuillier  hesi- 
tated, "or,  no,  rather  be  silent,  for  in  less  than  an  hour  you 
will  blush  at  your  suspicions  and  ask  my  pardon  on  your 
knees." 

The  Provencal  saw  that  without  a  confession  he  would  have 
the  newly  recovered  future  cut  from  beneath  his  feet.  He  re- 
sumed his  speech  with  great  gravity. 

"You  will  remember,  my  friend,"  said  he,  "that  you  were 
absolutely  without  pity,  and  that  by  subjecting  me  to  a  kind 
of  moral  torture  you  compelled  me  to  reveal  a  secret  which  is 
not  my  own," 

"  Go  on,  all  the  same,"  replied  Thuillier,  "  I'll  take  the 
whole  responsibility ;  make  me  see  the  light  in  all  this  dark- 
ness, and  I  will  be  the  first  to  recognize  that  I  was  wrong." 

"Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "those  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  are  the  savings  of  a  domestic  who  came  with  them  to 
me  asking  me  to  pay  her  interest  on  them." 

"A  domestic  who  has  saved  twenty-five  thousand  francs ! 
Strike  me !  it  seems  to  me  she  must  have  lived  in  a  bully 
house." 

"  On  the  contrary,  she  is  the  housekeeper  of  an  old,  infirm 
savant ;  it  was  for  this  reason  of  the  discrepancy  that  you 
suggest  that  she  wished  to  put  the  cash  in  my  hands  as  a  kind 
of  fiduciary  agent." 

"  By  my  faith,  my  friend,"  said  Thuillier,  in  a  flippant 
voice,  "  you  said  we  needed  a  romancist,  but  with  your  talent 
we  can  rest  quite  easy.     Here's  imagination  !  " 

"How's  that?"  said  la  Peyrade,  angrily;  "you  don't 
believe  me?  " 

"  No,  I  don't  believe  you  ;  twenty-five  thousand  francs  of 
savings  made  in  the  service  of  an  old  professor ;  why,  that's 
about  as  credible  as  that  captain  of  the  White  Lady  buying 
a  castle  out  of  his  pay." 


THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES.  345 

"  But  if  I  prove  the  truth  of  my  explanation — if  I  let  you 
put  your  finger  in  the  wound?" 

"In  that  case,  like  Saint-Thomas,  I  shall  lower  my  flag 
before  the  evidence  ;  but  you  must  permit  me  to  wait  until 
you  give  that  proof." 

Thuillier  thought  himself  superb. 

"I  would  have  given  two  louis,"  said  he  to  himself,  "if 
Brigitte  were  only  here  to  see  how  I  did  it." 

"Come  then,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "suppose  that  without 
going  outside  this  office,  and  by  means  of  a  note  which  shall 
pass  before  your  eyes,  I  bring  before  you  the  person  from 
whom  I  received  the  money  j  if  she  confirms  my  statement, 
shall  you  believe  then?" 

This  proposition  and  the  assurance  with  which  it  was  made 
staggered  Thuillier. 

"  Then,  of  course,"  replied  he,  changing  his  tune.  "But 
this  must  be  done  before  the  seance  is  over,  eh?  " 

"  Without  going  out  from  here,  I  said  ;  it  seems  to  me  that 
is  clear  enough." 

"  And  who  will  carry  your  note  when  you  have  written  it  ?  " 
asked  Thuillier.  He  thought  he  displayed  much  acumen  by 
looking  after  each  detail. 

"  Who  will  carry  it  ?  "  said  la  Peyrade.  "  Parbleu  !  your 
office  boy;  you  can  send  him  yourself." 

"Write  it  then,"  said  Thuillier,  determined  to  push  him 
to  the  wall. 

La  Peyrade  took  a  sheet  of  paper  with  the  letter-head  and 
wrote,  reading  aloud,  as  follows  : 

Mme.  Lambert  is  requested  to  come  immediately  on  urgent  business  to 
the  office  of  the  "  Echo  de  la  Bifevre,"  Rue  Saint-Dominique-d'Enfer, 
whither  the  bearer  will  conduct  her.  She  is  impatiently  awaited  by  her 
devoted  servant, 

THfeODOSE  DE  LA  PeYRADK. 

"Well,  will  that  suit?"  said  the  barrister,  passing  it  to 
Thuillier. 


346  THE   MI  DDT. E   CLASSES. 

"  Perfectly,"  said  he,  at  the  same  time  taking  the  precaution 
to  fold  the  paper  and  to  seal  it  himself.  "  Now  add  the 
address,"  he  added. 

Thuillier  rang  for  Cofifinet. 

"You  will  go,"  said  he,  *'to  that  address  with  this  note, 
and  the  person  will  return  with  you." 

When  they  were  alone,  la  Peyrade  took  up  a  paper  and 
appeared  to  be  absorbed  in  its  contents. 

Thuillier  by  this  time  was  somewhat  uneasy. 

"  I  ought  not  to  have  carried  the  matter  so  far,"  said  he  to 
himself;  "  I  should  have  torn  up  the  note."  Then  trying  to 
show  that  he  reinstated  la  Peyrade  in  the  position  from  which 
he  had  threatened  to  dismiss  him  : 

"  Oh,"  said  he,  "I  have  just  come  from  the  printer;  the 
new  type  has  arrived  ;  we  can,  I  guess,  make  our  appearance 
to-morrow." 

La  Peyrade  made  no  reply,  but  got  up  and  read  his  paper 
nearer  the  window. 

"  He  is  vexed,"  said  Thuillier  to  himself;  "well,  if  he  is 
innocent,  he  is  like  to  be ;  but  why,  after  all,  should  he  have 
brought  such  a  man  as  Cerizet  here?  " 

La  Peyrade  returned  to  the  table,  took  up  some  paper  and 
with  feverish  rapidity  wrote  like  a  man  who  is  violently  agi- 
tated, making  the  pen  fairly  fly  across  the  paper. 

Thuillier  from  the  corner  of  his  eye  tried  hard  to  see  what 
la  Peyrade  was  writing ;  he  noticed  it  was  arranged  in  num- 
bered paragraphs : 

"  Halloo  !  "  said  he,  "  are  you  drafting  a  new  law?  " 

"Yes,"  answered  la  Peyrade  coldly,  "the  law  of  the 
vanquished." 

Soon  after  the  boy  opened  the  door  and  introduced  Mme. 
Lambert,  who  arrived  looking  rather  afraid  and  minus  much 
of  her  unctuous  suavity, 

"  You  are  Madame  Lambert?  "  asked  Thuillier,  in  the  tone 
of  a  magistrate. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  847 

"Yes,  monsieur,"  replied  the  pious  woman,  in  an  anxious 
voice. 

Requesting  her  to  be  seated  and  noticing  that  the  office 
boy  remained  as  if  expecting  further  orders : 

"That  will  do,"  said  Thuillier,  "  go;  and  admit  no  one." 

The  gravity  and  lordly  tone  of  Thuillier  deeply  impressed 
Mme.  Lambert ;  moreover,  the  scene  took  place  in  a  news- 
paper office,  and  we  all  know  that,  particularly  in  the  eyes  of 
the  pious,  everything  that  has  to  do  with  the  press  savors  of 
the  infernal  and  diabolical. 

"Well,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  Thuillier  to  the  barrister, 
"  it  seems  to  me  that  nothing  hinders  your  explaining  to 
madame  why  you  have  sent  for  her." 

"We  wish  to  ask  you,  madame,"  said  la  Peyrade  ex 
abrupto,  "if  it  is  not  true  that  about  two  and  a  half  months 
ago  you  placed  in  my  hands,  subject  to  interest,  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  francs?" 

Madame  Lambert  could  not  restrain  a  start,  though  she  felt 
the  eyes  of  both  were  fixed  upon  her. 

"  Our  Lord  above  !  "  she  exclaimed,  "  and  where  should  I 
get  such  a  sum  as  that  ?  " 

La  Peyrade  showed  no  sign  of  the  uneasiness  he  might  have 
been  supposed  to  experience. 

As  for  Jerome  Thuillier,  who  now  glanced  at  him  with 
commiseration : 

"You  see,  my  dear  fellow "  said  he. 

"So,"  went  on  the  Provencal,  "you  are  quite  certain, 
madame,  that  you  did  not  place  in  my  hands  the  sum  of 
twenty-five  thousand  francs  ;  you  declare  it  ?  You  would 
swear  to  this?" 

"  Why,  monsieur,  is  it  at  all  likely  that  twenty- five  thou- 
sand francs  would  knock  at  the  door  of  such  a  poor  woman 
as  myself?  Even  the  little  I  had  has  gone  to  help  the  house- 
keeping of  that  poor,  dear  gentleman  whose  servant  I  have 
been  for  twenty  years." 


348  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"This,"  said  the  pompous  Thuillier,  ''seems  unan« 
swerable. ' ' 

La  Peyrade  showed  no  sign  of  annoyance ;  on  the  contrary, 
he  seemed  to  have  an  air  of  playing  into  the  hand  of 
Thuillier : 

"You  hear,  my  dear,"  said  he  to  him,  "and  if  necessary 
I  shall  call  upon  you  to  so  testify,  that  madame  here  never 
had  twenty-five  thousand  francs ;  consequently  she  could  not 
have  given  that  amonnt  to  me  ;  and  as  the  notary  Dupuis, 
with  whom  I  fancied  I  had  placed  them,  left  Paris  this  morn- 
ing for  Brussels,  carrying  with  him  all  his  clients'  money,  I 
have  a  clear  account  with  madame,  and  the  flight  of  the  notary 
Dupuis ' ' 

"The  notary  Dupuis  has  absconded!"  cried  Mme.  Lam- 
bert, carried  away  by  this  dreadful  news  out  of  her  usual 
dulcet  tones  and  Christian  resignation;  "the  wretch,  the 
villain,  when  only  this  morning  he  took  the  communion  at 
St.  Jacques  du  Haut-Pas." 

"That  was  doubtless  to  pray  for  a  safe  journey,"  replied 
la  Peyrade. 

"Monsieur  can  talk  lightly  enough  about  it,"  continued 
Mme.  Lambert,  "  but  that  brigand  has  carried  off  all  my 
savings;  but  I  gave  them  to  monsieur,  and  monsieur,  of 
course,  is  responsible  for  them ;  he  is  the  only  one  I  know  in 
the  matter." 

"Zr««./"  said  la  Peyrade  to  Thuillier,  pointing  to  Mme. 
Lambert,  whose  demeanor  had  something  of  a  she-wolf  who 
has  had  her  whelps  ravished  from  her;  "is  that  nature?  tell 
me,  have  we  gotten  up  this  comedy?  " 

"I  am  speechless,"  replied  Thuillier,  "at  the  audacity  of 
that  Cerizet ;  struck  dumb  by  my  own  stupidity,  I  can  but 
surrender  at  discretion." 

"Madame,"  said  la  Peyrade  gayly,  "will  please  excuse 
me  for  alarming  her,  it  was  an  absolute  necessity.  The 
notary  Dupuis  remains  a  pious  gentleman,  and  incapable  of 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  349 

injuring  his  clients.  Your  secret  is  as  safe  with  him  as  me, 
so  far  as  this  gentleman  is  concerned." 

"Very  good,  monsieur,"  said  Mme,  Lambert,  "then  you 
have  nothing  more  to  say  to  me?  " 

"No,  my  dear  madame,  except  to  beg  your  pardon  for  the 
slight  fright  we  caused  you." 

But  as  Mme.  Lambert  went  out  she  intimated  that  she  would 
need  the  money  very  soon  as  she  had  "heard  of  a  little 
property  she  meant  to  purchase."  She  was  reassured  by  la 
Peyrade,  who  explained  that  she  could  get  it  any  time  by 
giving  notice,  and  she  then  bade  him  adieu. 

"You  see,  my  dear,"  said  Theodose,  when  he  and  Thuil- 
lier  were  alone,  "  into  what  a  scrape  your  sick  imagination 
has  brought  me.  The  debt  was  dormant,  you  have  awakened 
it.     Now  she  will  press  for  it." 

"I  am  desolate,  my  dear  friend,  for  my  silly  credulity; 
but  don't  be  uneasy  about  that  matter,  we  can  arrange  all  that, 
even  if  I  have  to  go  your  security  or  make  an  advance  on  the 
wedding  dof 

"For  the  rest,  my  excellent  friend,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  wc 
will  begin  by  taking  stock  of  our  mutual  relationship  ;  I  have 
no  appetite  for  being  haled  up  every  morning  and  interrogated 
as  to  my  conduct ;  just  now  while  we  awaited  that  woman  I 
drew  up  a  little  memorandum  which  we  will  talk  over  and 
sign,  by  your  leave,  before  we  issue  the  first  number." 

"But  our  deed  of  partnership,"  said  Thuillier,  "seems  to 
me  a  chart " 

"That  by  a  paltry  forfeit  of  five  thousand  francs,  as  by 
clause  14,"  interrupted  Theodose,  "you  can,  when  you  wish, 
put  me  in  the  soup.  Thanks  !  we  will  have  something  rather 
more  definite." 

At  this  moment  entered  C^rizet  bubbling  over  with  vain- 
glory. 

"My  masters,"  said  he,  "I  have  brought  the  capital  and 
in  an  hour  the  security  can  be  perfected." 


850  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

But  seeing  that  the  news  was  received  with  marked  frigidity: 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  what's  up  now?  " 

**It  is  this,"  said  Thuillier,  "  that  I  refuse  to  associate  with 
double-faced  men  and  calumniators;  we  have  use  for  neither 
you  nor  your  money,  and  I  beg  you  to  no  longer  honor  these 
premises  with  your  company." 

"Dear,  oh  me!"  said  Cerizet,  "so  Daddy  Thuillier  has 
allowed  himself  to  be  caught  again." 

"Go  away,"  said  Thuillier,  "we  have  no  use  for  you." 

"My  boy,"  said  Cerizet  to  la  Peyrade,  "it  seems  that 
you've  twisted  the  good  bourgeois  round  your  finger  again. 
Well,  he's  not  the  inventor  of  the  printing  press;  and  as  for 
you,  we  have  seen  the  kind  of  work  you  can  turn  out.  Well, 
it  doesn't  matter,  but  all  the  same  you  were  wrong  in  not  call- 
ing upon  du  Portail,  I  shall  tell  him " 

"  Will  you  go  away,  monsieur?  "  cried  Thuillier,  threaten- 
ingly. 

"After  all,  my  dear  sir,"  continued  the  usurer,  "'  it  was  not 
I  that  looked  you  up.  I  was  doing  well  enough  before  you 
sent  for  me,  and  I  shall  do  quite  as  well  after.  Only  you  try 
and  avoid  paying  that  twenty-five  thousand  francs  out  of  your 
own  pocket,  for  that's  hanging  to  your  nose — I  know  all  about 
it." 

As  he  said  this  Cerizet  replaced  his  pocket-book  containing 
the  cash  in  his  breast-pocket,  and,  after  smoothing  his  hat  on 
his  coat  sleeve,  went  out. 

Thuillier  had  been  led  by  listening  to  Cerizet  into  a  most 
disastrous  campaign.  Become  the  humble  servant  of  de  la 
Peyrade,  he  was  compelled  to  bow  to  his  conditions  :  five 
hundred  francs  a  month  for  the  barrister's  services  on  the 
paper;  his  editorship  of  the  journal  to  be  paid  for  at  the  rate 
of  fifty  francs  per  column — an  enormous  sum,  taking  into  ac- 
count the  small  size  of  the  sheet ;  a  pledge  to  issue  the  paper 
for  at  least  six  months,  this  under  a  forfeit  of  fifteen  thousand 
francs ;  the  most  absolute  omnipotence  as  editor-in-chief,  being 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  351 

free  to  insert,  alter,  or  reject  any  article  without  being  com- 
pelled to  explain  his  reasons  therefor ;  these  were  the  stipula- 
tions signed  in  duplicate  by  both  parties  in  "good  faith." 

But,  in  virtue  of  another  private  agreement,  Thuillier  gave 
security  for  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  twenty-five  thousand 
francs  for  which  la  Peyrade  was  accountable  to  the  pious  one, 
"the  said  Maitre  la  Peyrade,"  binding  himself,  in  case  the 
repayment  was  required  before  his  marriage  with  Mile.  Colle- 
ville  could  take  place,  to  acknowledge  the  said  sum  as  being 
an  advance  on  account  of  the  doi.  In  this  ingenious  manner, 
the  crafty  Provencal  got  around  the  law  which  provides 
against  such  forestalling  of  the  consideration  mentioned  in 
the  marriage-contract. 

Matters  being  thus  arranged  and  everything  being  accepted 
by  the  candidate  who,  if  he  lost  la  Peyrade,  could  see  no 
chance  of  his  election,  Thuillier  had  a  happy  thought.  He 
went  to  the  Cirque-Olympique,  where  he  remembered  in  the 
box-office  a  former  employe  of  his  in  his  bureau — a  man 
named  Fleury,  to  whom  he  proposed  the  post  as  manager. 
An  old  soldier,  a  good  shot  and  capital  swordsman,  Fleury 
would  be  properly  respected  in  a  newspaper  office.  Not  less 
clever  in  the  art  of  "  leading  his  creditors  a  dance,"  he  was 
the  first  clerk  in  the  Bureau  of  Finance  to  hit  on  the  ingenious 
idea  of  inventing  spurious  suits  against  his  salary,  thus  pre- 
venting the  collection  of  any  legal  attachments  that  might  be 
taken.  He  took  the  same  proceedings  to  preserve  from  his 
creditors  the  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-three 
francs  thirty-three  centimes,  which  were  required  by  the  law 
to  be  deposited  in  his  name.  The  working  staff  being  thus 
constituted,  the  first  number  was  launched. 

Thuillier  now  recommenced  his  explorations  about  Paris  as 
we  previously  saw  on  the  publication  of  his  pamphlet.  Walk- 
ing into  a  reading-room  or  cafe,  he  asked  for  the  "  Echo  de  la 
Bievre,"  and  when,  as  was  unfortunately  too  often  the  case, 
he  was  told  they  did  not  know  of  such  a  paper : 


352  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"This  is  incredible  !  "  he  would  exclaim,  "  that  a  place 
with  any  pretensions  to  respect  does  not  take  such  a  popular 
paper." 

Then  he  would  depart  in  disdain,  without  seeing  that  in 
many  places  where  this  drummer's  dodge  was  quite  under- 
stood they  were  laughing  under  his  nose. 

The  evening  of  the  day  of  the  salutatory  article,  Brigitte, 
although  it  was  not  Sunday,  had  her  salon  thronged.  Recon- 
ciled with  la  Peyrade,  the  old  maid  went  so  far  as  to  say  that 
his  leading  editorial  was  a  "  hit."  The  remainder  of  the 
company  said  the  public  was  enchanted  with  the  first  number. 
The  public  !  everybody  knows  what  that  is  ;  the  man  who 
has  launched  a  few  lines  in  print  upon  a  trusting  world  has 
his  public  in  five  or  six  intimates,  who,  from  a  desire  to 
avoid  a  quarrel  with  the  author,  make  some  favorable  com- 
ment upon  his  lucubrations. 

"As  for  myself,"  said  Colleville,  "  I  can  say  that  it  is  the 
first  political  editorial  that  did  not  send  me  to  sleep." 

"  It  is  certain,"  said  Phellion,  "  that  the  editorial  appears 
to  me  to  be  stamped  with  vigor  combined  with  an  attic  style 
which  we  may  search  in  vain  for  in  the  columns  of  the  ordi- 
nary public  prints." 

The  next  day  Thuillier  was  early  at  the  office,  to  be  the 
first  to  meet  the  formidable  fire  of  the  ministerial  press. 
After  looking  through  every  paper  he  found  that  not  one  of 
them  had  even  mentioned  the  "Echo  de  la  Bievre,"  no 
more  than  if  it  did  not  exist.  When  la  Peyrade  arrived  he 
found  his  unhappy  friend  in  despair. 

"That  is  nothing  to  be  surprised  at,"  said  la  Peyrade, 
tranquilly.  "  I  let  you  enjoy  yourself  yesterday  in  the  hope 
of  a  hot  encounter  with  the  press ;  but  I  well  knew  that  it  was 
most  unlikely  that  any  mention  of  us  would  appear  in  the 
morning  papers.  Is  not  every  paper,  brought  out  with  any 
brilliancy,  bound  to  be  met  with  a  conspiracy  of  silence?" 

"  A  conspiracy  of  silence  !  "  echoed  Thuillier,  admiringly. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  353 

He  did  not  understand  what  this  meant,  but  the  words  had 
a  grand  sound  and  appealed  to  the  imagination.  Then  la 
Peyrade  explained  that  b}'  agreement  no  new  journal  was  men- 
tioned by  the  others  lest  it  might  serve  to  advertise  the  bant- 
ling. The  explanation  was  not  so  good  as  the  phrase.  The 
middle-class  is  ever  thus ;  words  are  coins  which  pass  without 
question.  For  a  word  he  becomes  exalted  or  abased,  will  in- 
sult or  applaud.  With  a  word  he  can  be  brought  to  make  a 
revolution  and  overthrow  the  government  he  has  chosen. 

But  the  journal  was  a  means  to  an  end.  In  a  few  days  a 
letter  from  several  electors  appeared  thanking  the  "  Echo  " 
for  its  firm  stand  and  their  delegate  in  the  Council  for  look- 
ing after  the  welfare  of  his  district.  "  This  attitude,"  said 
the  letter,  "had  brought  down  upon  him  the  persecution  of 
the  government,  which,  towed  in  the  wake  of  foreign  powers, 
had  sacrificed  Poland  and  sold  itself  to  England.  The  arron- 
dissement  needed  such  a  man  to  represent  it  in  the  Chamber  " 
— and  so  on. 

This  trial  balloon  had  the  happiest  effect ;  the  ten  or  twelve 
names  thus  pressed  to  the  front  were  those  who  (supposedly) 
represented  the  will  of  the  electors  and  were  called  '•  the  voice 
of  the  quarter."  Thus  from  the  start  Thuillier's  candidature 
had  made  such  a  sprint  on  the  way  that  Minard  hesitated 
about  putting  his  own  claims  in  rivalry. 

Brigitte  was  delighted  with  the  course  of  events ;  she  now 
urged  that  it  was  high  time  the  marriage  was  arranged.  A 
thorough  explanation  took  place  between  the  Provencal  and 
the  old  maid.  She  told  him  of  her  apprehensions  as  t©  his 
taking  the  lead  in  the  household,  and  further  said  that  unless 
they  could  agree  it  were  better  that  he  should  have  his  own 
home,  adding:  "We  should  not  be  the  less  friends  for 
that." 

La  Peyrade  replied  by  telling  her  that  nothing  was  further 
from  his  thoughts,  nothing  in  the  world  could  induce  him  to 
consent  to  such  an  arrangement ;  he  should  feel  the  greatest 
23 


354  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

security  if  only  Brigitte  would  continue  to  exercise  equally 
good  management  when  he  became  one  of  the  family,  as  she 
had  done  in  the  past.  In  short,  he  so  completely  reassured 
her  that  she  urged  upon  him  that  immediate  steps  be  taken 
for  the  publication  of  the  banns  and  the  signing  of  the  mar- 
riage-contract. She,  herself,  was  to  mention  the  subject  to 
Celeste. 

"My  dear  child,"  said  she  one  morning,  "I  think  you 
have  given  up  all  thoughts  of  becoming  Felix  Phellion's  wife. 
In  the  first  place,  he  is  more  an  atheist  than  ever,  and,  on  the 
the  other,  you  must  have  noticed  yourself  that  his  mind  is 
unhinged.  At  Madame  Minard's  you  have  seen  that  Madame 
Marmus,  who  married  a  professor,  an  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor  and  a  member  of  the  Institute.  There  could  be  no 
more  unhappy  woman  ;  her  husband  has  taken  her  to  live  at 
the  rear  of  the  Luxembourg,  near  the  Rue  Notre-Dame  des 
Champs,  in  the  Rue  Duguay-Trouin,  a  small  street  that  is 
neither  paved  nor  lighted.  When  he  goes  out  he  does  not 
know  which  way  he  is  walking  ;  he  finds  himself  in  the  Champ 
de  Mars  when  he  meant  going  to  the  faubourg  Poissonniere ; 
he  is  incapable  of  even  giving  his  address  to  a  hack-driver ; 
and  he  is  so  absent-minded  that  he  doesn't  know  whether  or 
not  he  has  had  his  dinner.  You  can  imagine  what  kind  of  a 
time  a  wife  must  have  with  a  man  who  has  always  got  his  nose 
in  a  glass  and  snuffing  at  stars." 

"But  Felix,"  said  Celeste,  "  is  not  as  absent-minded  as  all 
that." 

"Of  course  not;  he's  much  younger;  but  by  the  time  he 
gets  that  age  both  his  absence  of  mind  and  his  atheism  will 
increase ;  we  are  all  of  one  accord  that  he  is  not  a  suitable 
husband  for  you:  your  mother,  your  father,  Thuillier,  and 
myself — everybody  that  has  any  commonsense — we  have  de- 
cided, therefore,  that  you  shall  take  la  Peyrade,  who  will  put 
your  godfather  in  the  Chamber,  and  will  make  his  own  way 
beside.    We  shall  give  you  a  much  larger  doi  than  we  intended 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  355 

giving  any  other  husband.  So  it  must  be  considered  as  settled. 
The  banns  will  be  published  and  a  week  from  to-day  the  con- 
tract will  be  signed.  We  shall  give  a  big  dinner  and  your 
trousseau  and  corbeille  will  be  shown.  Now  don't  be  a  baby, 
but  accept  it  nicely." 

"But,  Aunt  Brigitte,"  began  Celeste,  timidly. 

"There's  no  'but '  about  it,  nor  '  ifs '  either,"  replied  the 
old  maid,  imperiously.  "It's  all  laid  out  and  will  be  carried 
through  unless,  mademoiselle,  you  think  you  know  more  than 
your  relatives." 

"I  will  do  as  you  wish,  my  aunt,"  answered  Celeste,  who 
felt  as  though  a  cloud  had  burst  above  her  head  ;  she  knew 
only  too  well  that  she  had  not  the  strength  to  struggle  against 
the  iron  will  that  had  just  pronounced  her  doom.  She  went 
and  sought  her  godmother,  but  Mme.  Thuillier  advised  resig- 
nation and  patience ;  the  poor  child  saw  there  was  not  even  a 
passive  resistance  to  be  looked  for  in  that  quarter ;  her  sacri- 
fice was  virtually  accomplished. 

The  dinner  was  ordered  from  Chabot  and  Potel,  not  from 
Chevet ;  for  by  doing  thus  Brigitte  set  her  initiative  and  proved 
her  emancipation  from  Mme.  de  Godollo.  When  the  time 
came  to  take  their  places  at  table  three  guests  were  missing — 
two  Minards,  father  and  son,  and  the  notary  Dupuis.  The 
latter  had  written  saying  that  it  was  impossible  to  be  at  the 
dinner,  but  that  he  would  arrive  with  the  contract  at  nine 
o'clock.  Julian  Minard,  said  his  mother,  was  suffering  with  a 
sore-throat ;  Minard  senior's  absence  was  unexplained  by  Mme. 
Minard,  but  she  begged  them  not  to  wait  for  him  as  he  would 
assuredly  come  later.  Brigitte  on  this  ordered  the  soup  to  be 
kept  hot  for  him,  for  among  the  middle-class  code  of  manners 
a  dinner  without  soup  is  not  a  dinner  at  all. 

The  meal  was  anything  but  cheerful,  the  fare  was  better, 
but  the  life  and  animation  which  had  graced  the  famous  nomi- 
nation banquet  was  sadly  missing.  The  absence  of  three  of 
the  guests  may  have  been  one  cause  ;  then  Flavie  was  very 


356  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

glum,  she  had  had  an  interview  with  la  Peyrade  at  her  own 
house  which  had  ended  in  tears ;  Celeste,  even  had  she  been 
happy  in  her  choice,  could  not  well,  as  a  matter  of  propriety, 
have  shown  too  much  joy  on  her  countenance  ;  she  made  no 
attempt  to  brighten  a  sorrowful  face,  and  dared  not  look  at  her 
godmother,  whose  appearance  looked,  so  to  speak,  like  one 
long  bleat.  The  poor  girl,  seeing  this,  feared  to  exchange  a 
look  with  her,  lest  she  might  bring  tears  to  her  eyes.  Thuil- 
lier  had  now  become  of  such  importance  that  he  was  stiff 
and  pompous ;  while  Brigitte  seemed  uneasy,  awkward,  and 
constrained. 

Colleville  tried  a  few  of  his  facetious  remarks  to  raise  the 
temperature  of  the  assembly,  but  the  coarse  flavor  of  his 
artist-jests,  in  the  atmosphere  in  which  they  were  produced, 
had  an  effect  like  a  loud  laugh  in  a  sick  chamber ;  a  mute 
hint  from  Thuillier,  la  Peyrade,  and  his  wife  that  he  should 
behave  himself  effectually  squelched  his  turbulence. 

Singularly  the  person  who  succeeded,  aided  by  Rabourdin,  in 
warming  the  air  was  the  gravest  person  of  the  party.  The 
Abbe  Gondrin,  a  man  of  cultivated  and  refined  mind.  He 
was  the  former  vicar  of  St.  Jacques  de  Haut-Pas,  whose  learn- 
ing and  gift  of  preaching  had  been  the  cause  of  the  arch- 
bishop removing  him  from  that  poor  quarter  to  that  of  the 
Madeleine.  Since  Mme.  Thuillier  and  Celeste  had  again 
become  his  parishioners,  the  young  abbe  paid  them  occasional 
visits.  Thuillier  had  explained  to  him  the  merits  of  the 
choice  of  la  Peyrade  and  had  culumniated  the  religious  views 
of  Felix  Phellion,  and  had  easily  got  him  to  contribute  by 
his  persuasive  words  to  the  resignation  of  the  victim.  He 
had  just  succeeded  in  getting  off  the  frost  when  Minard  came 
in. 

After  excusing  himself  on  the  ground  of  his  official  duties, 
he  exchanged  a  significant  look  with  his  wife,  which  seemed 
to  give  an  appearance  that  he  had  been  detained  by  some 
private  matter.     La  Peyrade  and  Thuillier  caught  this  wink; 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  357 

they  had  received  an  order  for  a  box  for  the  celebrated  fairy 
burlesque  of  "  Love's  Telegraph,"  in  which  Olympe  Cardinal 
was  to  make  her  debut,  and  they  were  not  altogether  con- 
vinced of  Julian  Minard's  indisposition  ;  they  therefore  also 
exchanged  significant  glances,  and  wondered  if  the  young 
gentleman's  pot  of  roses  had  been  discovered  and  whether  the 
task  of  the  elder  one  had  not  been  that  of  learning  the  truth. 

Being  accustomed  to  pick  up  the  thread  of  conversation 
wherever  he  found  it,  he  tried  to  hide  under  a  perfect  free- 
dom of  spirit  his  parental  anxieties : 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Minard,  as  soon  as  he  had  swallowed  a 
few  mouthfuls,  "  have  you  heard  the  great  news?" 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  asked  several  voices  at  once. 

"  The  Academy  of  Sciences  has  received  to-day  the  par- 
ticulars of  an  extraordinary  discovery ;  the  heavens  have  an- 
other star." 

"  Tiens .'^^  said  Colleville;  "well,  that  will  do  to  replace 
that  one  which  Beranger  thought  had  gone  from  its  place, 
when,  to  the  tune  of  '  Octavia,'  he  grieved  over  Chateaubri- 
and's departure  :   *  Chateaubriand,  why  fly  your  land  ?  '  " 

This  quotation,  which  he  sang,  exasperated  Flavie,  and,  if  it 
had  been  the  custom  for  wives  to  sit  next  their  husbands  at 
table,  the  old  first  clarionet  of  the  Opera-Comique  would  not 
have  got  off"  with  a  mere  "  Colleville,"  which  called  him  to 
order  from  the  distance. 

"What  will  give  this  meeting  which  I  have  the  honor  of 
addressing,"  said  Minard,  "a  special  interest  in  the  great 
astronomical  event  is  that  the  author  lives  in  the  twelfth 
arrondissement,  which  a  number  of  you  still  inhabit  or  did 
inhabit  for  a  long  period  of  time.  Indeed,  everything  con- 
nected with  this  great  scientific  fact  is  most  remarkable.  The 
Academy,  on  reading  the  communication  which  announced  it, 
was  so  convinced  of  its  existence,  that  a  deputation  was 
appointed  to  visit  the  domicile  of  this  modern  Galileo  and 
compliment  him  on  behalf  of  the  whole  body ;  and  yet  this 


358  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Star  is  not  visible  either  to  the  eye  even  through  the  telescope  ', 
it  is  by  the  force  of  reasoning  and  calculation  that  its  exist- 
ence and  the  place  it  occupies  are  proved  beyond  all  doubt. 
*  There  must  be  an  unknown  star  in  that  spot.  I  cannot  see 
it,  but  I  am  sure  of  it.'  That  is  what  this  savant  said  to  the 
Academy,  which  he  at  once  convinced  by  his  deductions.  And 
do  you  know,  gentlemen,  whom  this  Christopher  Columbus  is 
of  the  new  celestial  world  ?  An  old,  purblind  man,  who  has 
difficulty  in  seeing  his  way  across  the  street." 

"That  is  admirable!  marvelous!"  cried  several  guests, 
with  one  accord. 

"  What  is  the  name  of  this  savant?"  asked  several  voices. 

"  Monsieur  Picot,  or,  if  you  prefer,  *  old  '  Picot,  for  that  is 
the  name  everybody  gives  him  in  the  Rue  du  Val-de-Grace, 
where  he  lives  ;  he  is  simply  an  old  professor  of  mathematics, 
who,  for  the  rest,  has  turned  out  some  first-class  pupils — by- 
the-by,  Felix  Phellion,  whom  we  all  know,  he  studied  under 
him,  it  was  he  who,  on  the  part  of  his  old  master,  read  the 
memorial  to  the  Academy," 

At  the  name  of  Felix,  and  remembering  the  promise  to  lift 
her  to  the  sky,  which  when  he  said  it  seemed  to  savor  of 
lunacy,  Celeste  looked  at  Mme.  Thuillier,  whose  face  had 
grown  quite  animated,  and  seemed  to  say  to  her: 

"  Courage,  my  child,  all  is  not  lost." 

"My  dear  fellow,"  said  Thuillier  to  la  Peyrade,  "Felix  is 
coming  here  this  evening,  you  try  and  corner  him  and  obtain 
the  communication  ;  it  would  be  a  lucky  scoop  for  our  *  Echo  * 
if  we  only  could  get  it  out  first." 

"Oh!  "  said  Minard,  volunteering  a  reply,  "it  would  just 
be  to  the  taste  of  a  curious  public,  for  it  has  made  an  im- 
mense sensation.  The  deputation,  not  finding  Monsieur  Picot 
at  home,  returned  to  the  office  of  the  minister  of  public  in- 
struction ;  at  once  the  minister  hastened  off"  to  the  Tuileries, 
and  the  'message,'  which  was  issued  early  this  evening,  an- 
nounces that  Monsieur  Picot  is  nominated  a  chevalier  of  the 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  359 

Legion  of  Honor  and  is  granted  a  pension  of  eighteen  iiun- 
dred  francs  from  the  fund  for  the  encouragement  of  the  sci- 
ences and  letters." 

"There,"  said  Thuillier,  "  is  a  Cross  well  bestowed." 

"I  rather  think,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  that  the  worthy  Mon- 
sieur Picot  is  not  being  well  cared  for;  for  just  at  this  time 
his  family,  after  failing  to  get  a  commission  in  lunacy,  are 
trying  to  have  trustees  appointed.  They  claim  that  he  is 
being  robbed  by  a  servant  who  lives  with  him.  Parbleu  ! 
Thuillier,  you  know  her ;  it  is  that  woman  who  came  the  other 
day  to  the  office,  and  who  had  been  led  to  think  that  Dupuis, 
the  notary,  had  gone  off  with  some  funds  of  hers." 

"Yes,  yes,  very  well,"  said  Thuillier,  significantly;  "yes, 
you  are  right,  I  do  know  her." 

"It's  queer,"  said  Brigitte,  improving  the  occasion  to  em- 
phasize the  argument  she  had  had  with  Celeste  about  Mar- 
mus',  the  mathematician,  absence  of  mind,  "that  all  these 
savants,  outside  their  learning,  are  good  for  nothing,  and 
that,  when  they  are  at  home,  they  have  to  be  cared  for  like 
children." 

"  That  proves,"  said  the  Abb6  Gondrin,  "  how  greatly  they 
are  absorbed  in  their  studies ;  but  at  the  same  time  they  pos- 
sess an  artlessness  of  nature  which  is  most  touching." 

"  When  they  are  not  as  perverse  as  donkeys,"  replied  Bri- 
gitte, testily.  "As  forme.  Monsieur  I'Abbe,  I  can  tell  you 
that,  if  ever  I  thought  of  marrying,  a  professor  would  not  suit 
itie.  In  the  first  place,  what  do  they  work  at,  these  savants? 
At  stupidities  the  most  part  of  their  time ;  for  here  you  are 
all  admiring  the  discovery  of  a  star,  and  what  good  will  that 
do  any  of  us  ?  For  my  part,  I  think  we  have  plenty  of  stars 
already." 

"  Bravo!  "  Brigitte,  said  Colleville,  again  forgetting  him- 
self; "  you  are  truth  itself,  my  girl,  and,  like  you,  I  think  the 
man  who  can  only  discover  a  new  dish  would  deserve  better 
of  mankind." 


360  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

'*  Colleville,"  said  Flavie,  "I  must  say  that  your  remarks 
are  in  the  worst  possible  taste." 

"My  dear  demoiselle,"  said  the  Abbe  Gondrin,  addressing 
Brigitte,  -'you  might  be  right  if  man  consisted  of  matter 
only,  and  if  there  were  not  bound  to  our  body  a  soul  having 
instincts  and  cravings  that  need  to  be  satisfied.  Now  I  think 
this  sense  of  the  infinite  which  dwells  within  us,  and  which 
each  in  his  own  way  endeavors  to  satisfy,  is  v/onderfully 
helped  by  the  searchings  of  astronomy,  that  from  time  to  time 
reveals  to  us  new  worlds  which  the  hand  of  the  Creator  has 
strewn  through  space.  The  infinite  within  you  finds  another 
outlet ;  this  passion  for  the  welfare  of  those  about  you,  this 
warm  affection,  so  ardent,  so  devoted,  which  you  feel  for  your 
brother,  are  at  once  the  manifestations  of  the  aspirations  which 
have  nothing  of  the  material  in  them,  which  in  seeking  their 
end  and  object  will  never  ask :  '  What  good  is  all  this?  What 
is  the  use  of  that  ?  '  Again,  I  must  assure  you  that  the  stars 
are  not  without  their  uses,  as  you  would  seem  to  suppose; 
without  these,  navigators  would  be  seriously  impeded  in  their 
steering  across  the  seas  ;  they  would  be  puzzled  how  to  bring 
from  distant  lands  the  vanilla  which  has  served  to  flavor  this 
delicious  cream  that  I  am  now  eating.  So,  as  observed  by 
Monsieur  CoUeville,  there  is  much  affinity  between  a  dish  and 
a  star ;  we  should  decry  no  person,  be  it  an  astronomer  or  a 
housekeeper." 

The  abbe  was  interrupted  by  a  noise  of  loud  altercation  in 
the  antechamber. 

"I  tell  you  I  will  go  in,"  shouted  a  voice. 

"No,  monsieur,  you  shall  not  go  in,"  replied  the  "male" 
domestic.  "They  are  at  table,  I  tell  you;  no  one  should 
force  his  way  into  a  private  house." 

Thuillier  turned  pale ;  since  the  seizure  of  the  pamphlet,  he 
fancied  all  improvised  visits  betokened  the  advent  of  the 
police. 

Among  the  various  social  dogmas  laid  down  by  Mme.  de 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  361 

Godollo  for  Brigitte's  guidance,  the  one  that  had  needed  the 
oftenest  repeating  was  never,  as  mistress  of  the  house,  tQ  rise 
from  the  table  unless  it  was  intended  as  the  signal  for  retir- 
ing ;  but  present  circumstances  seemed  to  give  amnesty  to  the 
injunction. 

"I'll  go  and  see  what  it  all  means,"  she  said  to  Tliuillier, 
quickly,  as  she  noted  his  uneasiness.  "What  is  it?"  she 
asked  the  servant,  when  she  reached  the  scene  of  the  conflict. 

"  Here  is  a  gentleman  who  is  determined  to  come  in  ;  he 
says  no  one  dines  at  eight  o'clock." 

"But  who  are  you,  monsieur?"  said  Brigitte  to  an  old 
man,  strangely  attired,  and  whose  eyes  were  protected  by  a 
green  shade. 

"Madame,  I  am  neither  a  beggar  nor  a  vagabond,"  re- 
plied the  old  man  in  a  sonorous  voice.  "  I  am  professor  of 
mathematics,,  by  name  Picot." 

"Rue  du  Val-de-Grdce ? "  asked  Brigitte. 

"Yes,  madame.  No.  9,  next  door  to  the  fruit  store." 

"  Come  in,  monsieur,  come  in,  we  are  only  too  happy  to 
receive  you,"  cried  Thuillier,  who,  hearing  the  name,  had 
hurried  out  to  meet  the  savant. 

"He  arrived  like  the  'Great  Bear,'  "  said  Colleville,  de- 
ranging a  proverb  in  Leon  de  Lora's  style. 

^^Heinl  scallawag,"  said  the  savant,  turning  to  where  the 
servant  had  been  standing  when  he  entered,  but  who  had  re- 
tired when  he  saw  everything  was  amicably  settled. 

Pdre  Picot  was  a  tall,  spare  man,  with  a  severe,  angular  face, 
which,  in  spite  of  the  softening  effect  of  a  blonde  wig  with 
heavy  curls,  and  the  pacific  green  shade  we  previously  spoke 
of,  had  a  truculent  and  surly  cast,  and  which  hard  study  had 
ornamented  with  a  surface  of  sickly  pallor.  He  had  given 
proof  of  his  snappish,  quarrelsome  mind  before  entering  the 
dining-room,  where  every  one  rose  to  receive  him. 

His  costume  consisted  of  an  over-large  frock-coat,  some- 
thing between  an  overcoat  and  a  dressing-gown ;  under  this 


362  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

was  a  big  vest  of  iron-gray  cloth,  fastened  from  the  throat  to 
the  pit  of  the  stomach  with  a  double  row  of  buttons,  huzzar 
style,  and  looking  like  a  breast-plate.  His  trousers,  though 
October  was  near  its  close,  were  of  black  thin  serge,  and  gave 
testimony  to  long  wear  by  dull-looking  patches  breaking  the 
shining  surface  caused  by  wear,  and  a  rough  darn  covered  one 
knee.  But,  by  daylight,  his  most  striking  feature  was  a  pair 
of  Patagonian  feet,  imprisoned  in  beaver  cloth  slippers,  which, 
being  moulded  upon  the  mountainous  excrescences  of  gigantic 
bunions,  made  one  involuntarily  think  of  a  dromedary  or  an 
advanced  case  of  elephantiasis. 

When  he  was  installed  on  the  chair  eagerly  placed  for  him, 
and  the  company  had  resumed  their  seats  at  the  table,  amid 
the  silence  born  of  curiosity : 

"  Where  is  he,"  cried  the  old  man,  in  a  voice  of  thunder, 
*'  the  villain,  the  scoundrel  ?  Bring  him  forth,  let  me  hear 
his  voice." 

"To  whom  do  you  refer,  my  dear  sir?"  asked  Thuillier, 
in  a  conciliatory  voice,  in  which  was  a  slight  tone  of  patron- 
age. 

"  A  scallawag  whom  I  could  not  find  at  his  residence,  mon- 
sieur, and  they  informed  me  that  he  was  at  this  house.  I 
am,  I  believe,  in  the  home  of  Monsieur  Thuillier,  member  of 
Council,  Place  de  la  Madeleine,  first  floor  above  the  en- 
tresol?" 

"  Precisely,  monsieur,"  replied  Thuillier,  "and  allow  me  to 
add,  monsieur,  that  we  are  all  your  respectful  sympathizers." 

"  And  you  will  permit  me,  I  hope,"  said  Minard,  **  as  the 
mayor  of  the  adjoining  arrondissement  to  that  in  which  you 
reside,  to  congratulate  myself  in  being  present  in  the  com- 
pany of  Monsieur  Picot,  the  one  who  is  without  a  doubt  the 
discoverer  of  a  star,  and  by  this  has  immortalized  his  name." 

"Yes,  monsieur,"  replied  the  professor,  raising  once  more 
the  stentorian  diapason  of  his  voice,  "  I  am  Picot  (Ndpomu- 
cdne),  the  one  you  speak  of,  but  I  have  discovered  no  star. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  363 

I  am  not  such  a  faddist,  my  eyes  are  very  weak  ;  that  insolent 
rascal  is  making  me  ridiculous  with  that  hoax.  I  don't  find 
him  here  >  he  is  in  hiding,  the  coward,  and  dare  not  sniffle  a 
word  before  my  face." 

"Who  is  this  person  you  are  so  annoyed  with?"  was 
asked  the  old  man  by  a  number  of  voices. 

"An  unnatural  pupil,"  replied  the  old  mathematician;  "a 
good-for-nothing — a  man  of  parts,  though — his  name  is  Felix 
Phellion." 

This  name  was  heard  with  amazement,  as  may  be  imagined. 
Finding  the  situation  so  funny,  Colleville  and  la  Peyrade 
shouted  with  laughter, 

"You  laugh,  wretch,"  cried  the  irate  old  man  rising  from 
his  seat;  "just  come  and  laugh  within  the  length  of  my 
arm." 

And  he  brandished  an  enormous,  heavy  stick  with  a  China 
knob,  which  he  used  as  a  guiding  cane,  thereby  nearly  knock- 
ing over  a  heavy  candelabrum  on  the  table  on  to  Mme. 
Minard's  head. 

"You  are  mistaken,  monsieur,"  said  Brigitte,  seizing  his 
arm  in  the  nick  of  time,  "  Monsieur  Felix  Phellion  is  not 
here.  He  will  most  likely  be  here  at  our  reception,  some- 
what later,  but  he  has  not  yet  arrived." 

"They  don't  begin  very  early,  your  soirees,^^  said  the  old 
man,  "  it  is  past  eight  o'clock.  However,  as  Monsieur  Felix 
will  come  later,  you  will  permit  me  to  wait  for  him.  You 
were  eating  dinner,  I  think;  pray  don't  allow  me  to  disturb 
you." 

And  he  quietly  sat  down. 

"May  I  offer  you  anything?"  asked  Brigitte;  "a  glass 
of  champagne  and  a  biscuit  ?  " 

"As  you  are  so  kind,  madame,"  replied  the  old  man, 
"  one  never  refuses  champagne,  and  I  can  always  eat  between 
meals;  you  dine  very  late,  though." 

A  place  was  found  for  him  at  the  table  between  Colleville 


364  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

and  Mme.  Minard ;  the  musician  filled  the  glass  of  his  new 
neighbor,  before  whom  was  placed  a  dish  of  little  cakes. 

**  Monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  in  a  wheedling  voice,  "  you 
must  have  seen  how  surprised  we  were  to  hear  you  complain 
of  Monsieur  Felix  Phellion,  a  so  gentle  young  man,  so  in- 
offensive. What  has  he  really  done  that  your  indignation  is 
so  great  ? ' ' 

His  mouth  full  of  pastry,  which  he  was  consuming  at  a  rate 
which  caused  Brigitte  much  agitation,  the  professor  signed 
that  he  would  give  an  answer  presently.  Then,  mistaking 
his  glass  and  gulping  down  the  contents  of  Colleville's  : 

<'What  has  that  insolent  done?"  he  replied.  "  The  mis- 
erable thing — and  not  for  the  first  time,  either.  He  knows 
that  I  cannot  suffer  stars,  and  with  good  cause.  In  1807, 
being  attached  to  the  Bureau  of  Longitudes,  I  took  part  in  a 
scientific  expedition  that  was  sent  to  Spain  under  the  direction 
of  my  friend  and  colleague,  Jean-Baptiste  Biot,  to  determine 
the  arc  of  the  meridian  from  Barcelona  to  the  Belearic  Isles. 
I  was  just  observing  a  star,  perhaps  the  very  star  my  rogue  of 
a  pupil  has  discovered,  when  suddenly,  war  in  the  meantime 
having  broken  out  between  France  and  Spain,  the  peasants, 
seeing  me  perched  with  a  telescope  at  the  top  of  Mont  Galazzo, 
figured  it  out  that  I  was  signaling  to  the  enemy.  An  infuri- 
ated rabble  smashed  my  instruments  and  talked  of  stringing 
me  up ;  I  was  go — gone  up  only  that  the  captain  of  a  ship 
took  me  prisoner  and  thrust  me  into  the  citadel  of  Belver, 
where  I  spent  three  years  in  dire  captivity.  Since  that  time, 
as  you  may  well  believe,  I  have  let  the  whole  celestial  system 
alone;  though  I  was,  without  being  aware  of  the  fact,  the 
first  to  observe  the  famous  comet  of  181 1 ;  but  I  should  have 
been  careful  to  have  said  nothing  about  it  only  that  Monsieur 
Flauguergues  was  so  foolish  as  to  publish  it.  Like  all  my 
pupils,  Phellion  knows  my  declared  aversion  to  the  stars,  and 
he  knew  right  well  that  the  best  trick  that  he  could  play  upon 
me  would  be  to  saddle  one  on  my  back.     So  that  deputation 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  335 

that  went  through  the  farce  of  coming  to  compliment  me  waS 
more  than  lucky  in  not  finding  me  at  home,  for,  if  they  had,  the 
respected  gentlemen  the  academicians,  and  all  the  Academy 
included,  would  have  passed  a  bad  quarter  of  an  hour." 

Everybody  found  the  greatest  pleasure  in  this  singular  mono- 
mania of  the  old  mathematician.  Only  la  Peyrade  was  be- 
ginning to  understand  the  part  played  by  Felix,  and  he  was 
vexed  that  he  had  insisted  on  the  explanation. 

**  Still,  Monsieur  Picot,"  said  Minard,  "if  Felix  Phellion 
is  only  culpable  by  crediting  you  with  this  discovery,  it  seems 
to  me  that  his  indiscretion  has  been  compensated  to  some  ex- 
tent ;  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor,  a  pension,  and  the 
glory  that  will  accrue  to  your  name." 

"The  Cross  and  the  pension  I  take,"  said  the  old  man, 
emptying  his  glass,  which  to  the  great  horror  of  Brigitte  he 
replaced  upon  the  table  with  such  force  as  to  break  the  stem- 
"For  twenty  years  the  government  has  owed  me  them,  not 
for  discovering  stars,  either  (things  that  I  have  always  scorned), 
but  for  my  celebrated  treatise  on  'Differential  Logarithms,' 
which  Kepler  thought  proper  to  term  monologarithms,  a 
sequel  to  Napier's  tables ;  for  my  *  Postulatum '  of  Euclid, 
which  I  was  the  first  to  solve ;  but,  above  all,  for  my  theory 
of  'Perpetual  Motion,'  four  volumes,  octavo,  with  plates: 
Paris,  1825.  You  can  thus  see,  monsieur,  that  to  give  me 
glory  is  to  pour  water  into  the  river.  I  had  so  little  need  of 
Monsieur  Phellion  to  make  me  a  position  in  the  scientific 
world,  that  a  long  time  ago  I  turned  him  out  of  my  house  in 
disgrace." 

"  Then  this  is  not  the  first  star  that  he  has  thrust  upon  you 
for  a  joke?"  asked  CoUeville,  flippantly. 

"He  did  worse  than  that,"  cried  the  old  man;  "he  has 
tarnished  my  fame.  My  theory  of  'Perpetual  Motion,'  the 
printing  of  which  cost  me  ray  all,  when  it  ought  to  have  been 
printed  at  the  Royal  Printery,  was  enough  to  have  made  my 
fortune  and  render  me  immortal.     Well,   that  wretch  of  a 


366  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

Felix  hindered  it  all.  From  time  to  time,  pretending  that  he 
knew  my  publisher:  'Father  Picot,'  he  would  say  (the  young 
sycophant),  '  here  are  five  hundred  francs,  or  fifteen  crowns, 
or,  as  it  was  one  time,  two  thousand  francs,  which  the  pub- 
lisher gave  me  for  you,  for  your  book  is  selling  finely.'  This 
went  on  for  years,  and  my  publisher,  who  was  in  the  con- 
spiracy, would  say  to  me  when  I  went  to  his  place :  '  Oh  !  yes, 
it  is  not  doing  so  badly,  it  fairly  bubbles,  we  shall  soon  get 
through  the  first  edition.'  I  didn't  suspect  anything,  and  of 
course  pocketed  the  money;  I  thought  to  myself:  'My  book 
is  to  their  taste,  the  idea  will  make  its  way ;  from  day  to  day  I 
may  expect  that  some  capitalist  will  come  forward  and  propose 
to  apply  my  system  to '  " 

"The  'Absorption  of  Liquids?'"  asked  Colleville,  who 
had  been  constantly  engaged  in  filling  the  old  lunatic's  glass. 

"  No,  monsieur,  my  theory  of  '  Perpetual  Motion,'  4  vols, 
in  4to,  with  plates:  Paris,  1825.  But,  bah!  days  passed 
along  and  nobody  ever  came  ;  so,  thinking  my  publisher  was 
not  energetic  enough,  I  tried  to  arrange  for  a  second  edition 
with  another  publisher.  This  it  was,  monsieur,  that  allowed 
me  to  discover  the  whole  plot,  and  I  turned  the  serpent  out 
of  doors.  In  six  years  there  had  been  only  nine  copies  sold; 
kept  lulled  in  false  security,  I  had  done  nothing  to  push  my 
book,  which  had  been  left  to  take  care  of  itself;  thus  was  I 
the  victim  of  jealousy  and  the  blackest  malice,  and  was  un- 
justly despoiled  of  the  value  of  my  labors." 

"But,"  said  Minard,  who  had  constituted  himself  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  company,  "  may  we  not  regard  this  as  an 
act  equally  delicate  and  ingenious  to " 

"  To  give  me  alms,  is  that  what  you  mean?"  interrupted 
the  old  man  with  a  roar  that  made  Mile.  Minard  jump  in  her 
chair;  "to  humiliate  me,  dishonor  me — me,  his  old  tutor;  is 
it  that  I  need  the  succor  of  charity  ?  Has  Picot — I,  Nepo- 
mucene — to  whom  his  wife  brought  a  dowry  of  one  hundred 
thousand  francs,  ever  held  his  hand  out  to  anybody?     But 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  867 

nowadays  nothing  is  respected  ;  old  fellows,  as  they  call  us, 
our  religion,  our  good  faith  is  taken  advantage  of,  so  that  the 
younger  generation  may  say  to  the  public  :  *  These  old  do- 
tards, can't  you  see  plainly  that  they  are  good  for  nothing? 
it  needs  us,  the  modern  men,  us.  Young  France,  to  step  in 
and  bring  them  up  by  hand.'  You,  hobbledehoy,  you  try  to 
feed  me  !  But  these  old  dotards  have  more  knowledge  in 
their  little  finger  than  you  have  in  your  whole  brain  ;  you  will 
never  be  worth  as  much  as  us,  miserable  little  intriguers  as 
you  are.  As  for  that  matter,  I  can  wait  for  my  revenge ;  that 
young  Phellion  is  bound  to  come  to  a  bad  end ;  that  which  he 
did  to-day,  reading  before  the  full  board  at  the  Academy  a 
statement  in  my  name,  was  nothing  less  than  forgery,  and  the 
law  punishes  forgery  with  the  galleys." 

"Quite  true,"  said  Colleville,  "the  forgery  of  a  public 
star."* 

Brigitte  trembled  for  her  glassware,  and  her  nerves  tingled 
at  the  slaughter  of  cakes  and  pastry,  so  she  gave  the  signal  to 
return  to  the  salon,  where  a  number  of  guests  had  already  as- 
sembled.    Colleville  politely  offered  his  arm  to  the  professor. 

"No,  monsieur,"  said  he,  "permit  me  to  stay  here.  I  am 
not  dressed  for  a  soiree,  and,  beside,  a  strong  light  injures  my 
eyes.  Then,  I  have  no  fancy  to  make  an  exhibition  of  my- 
self; it  will  be  best  that  the  explanation  between  myself  and 
my  pupil  should  take  place  between  '  four  eyes,'  as  the  saying 
goes." 

No  one  insisted ;  the  old  man,  all  unconsciously,  had  un- 
crowned himself  in  the  opinion  of  the  guests.  But  the  thrifty 
housewife,  before  leaving  him,  removed  everything  of  a  fragile 
nature  from  within  his  reach  ;  then,  by  way  of  a  slight  recom- 
pense: 

**  Will  you  take  coffee  ?  "  she  asked. 

"I'll  take  it,  madame,"  replied  old  Picot,  "an4  somQ 
cognac,  too." 

^  It  is  impossible  to  produce- the  pun  in  Englirii. 


368  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Bless  my  life!  he  takes  everything,"  said  Brigitte  to  the 
"  male  "  domestic. 

When  Brigitte  reentered  the  salon  she  found  the  Abbe 
Gondrin  the  centre  of  a  great  circle ;  as  she  approached  she 
heard  him  say : 

"I  thank  heaven  for  having  granted  me  such  happiness. 
Never  have  I  felt  such  an  emotion  as  that  aroused  by  the 
scene  in  which  we  have  just  participated  ;  even  the  somewhat 
burlesque  form  of  the  confidence,  certainly  very  artless,  for  it 
was  wholly  involuntary,  but  adds  to  the  glory  of  the  astound- 
ing generosity  revealed  to  us.  Placed  by  my  sacred  calling 
in  the  way  of  learning  of  many  charities,  often  also  either  the 
witness  or  intermediary  of  kindly  actions,  I  think  that  never 
in  my  life  before  have  I  met  with  a  so  touching  or  more  inge- 
nious devotion.  Keeping  the  left  hand  in  ignorance  of  the 
doings  of  the  right  is  a  great  step  in  Christianity  ;  but  to  go 
so  far  as  to  rob  one's  self  of  one's  own  fame  to  benefit  another 
under  such  singular  circumstances,  with  every  risk  of  being 
told  he  lied,  is  the  gospel  applied  in  its  highest  precepts;  it  is 
being  more  than  a  sister  of  charity,  it  is  worthy  the  apostle  of 
benevolence.  I  would  that  I  knew  this  noble  young  man, 
that  I  might  shake  him  by  the  hand." 

Her  arm  passed  through  that  of  her  godmother.  Celeste  was 
standing  near  the  priest.  Her  ear  heard  every  word,  and  as 
he  talked  of  and  analyzed  Felix's  generous  conduct,  she 
clung  more  closely  to  Mme.  Thuillier's  arm,  saying  in  a  low 
voice : 

"You  hear,  godmother,  you  hear  !  " 

To  crush  the  inevitable  effect  which  this  eulogy  would  have 
on  Cdleste: 

"Unfortunately,  Monsieur  I'Abb^,"  said  Thuillier,  "this 
young  man  on  whom  you  have  made  such  a  '  grand  oration  ' 
is  not  unknown  to  you.  I  have  had  before  now  occasion  to 
speak  of  him  to  you,  regretting  that  we  had  found  it  impos- 
sible to  carry  out  certain  plans  we  had  arranged  in  connection 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  369 

with  him ;  I  allude  to  the  very  compromising  attitude  he 
affects  in  his  religious  opinions." 

"Oh!  is  that  the  young  man?"  said  the  abbe;  "you 
surprise  me  greatly  j  I  must  say  that  I  should  not  have  formed 
such  an  idea." 

"You  will  see  him  presently,  Monsieur  I'Abbe,"  said  la 
Peyrade,  "  and  if  you  question  him  on  certain  points  you  will 
have  no  difficulty  in  discovering  the  ravages  that  the  pride  of 
science  can  exercise  in  the  most  happily  tempered  souls." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  shall  not  see  him,"  said  the  abbe,  "as  my 
black  robe  would  be  out  of  place  in  the  midst  of  the  fashion- 
able splendor  that  will  soon  fill  this  drawing-room.  But  you. 
Monsieur  la  Peyrade,  are  a  man  of  sincere  religious  convic- 
tions, and  as  you  doubtless  feel  an  interest  in  that  young  man's 
welfare,  as  I  do  myself,  I  just  say  to  you  in  parting :  Do  not 
be  uneasy  about  him ;  soon  or  late  such  souls  always  come 
back  to  us,  and,  if  the  return  of  these  prodigals  may  be  long 
delayed,  I  should  not  despair  of  seeing  them  going  to  God, 
or  that  His  infinite  mercy  would  fail  them." 

As  he  spoke  the  abbe  looked  around  for  his  hat,  intending 
to  slip  quietly  away;  just  as  he  thought  it  possible  to  be  done 
unnoticed,  he  was  accosted  by  Minard  : 

"Monsieur,"  said  the  Mayor  of  the  Eleventh,  "permit  me 
to  press  your  hand  and  thank  you  for  the  felicitous  words  of 
tolerance  that  have  fallen  from  your  lips.  Oh  !  if  all  priests 
were  like  you,  religion  would  soon  be  victorious.  I  am  in 
domestic  trouble  and  have  to  decide  on  a  line  of  conduct 
about  which  I  should  be  glad  of  your  advice." 

"  Whenever  you  please,  monsieur,"  replied  the  abbe ;  "  Rue 
de  la  Madeleine,  No.  8,  in  rear  of  the  Cite  Berryer;  after  six 
o'clock  mass,  I  am  generally  in  the  whole  morning." 

As  soon  as  the  abb^  had  gone,  taking  Mme.  Minard  aside : 

"  Well,  it  is  true,"  said  Minard,  "  and  the  anonymous  letter 
does  not  misinform  us.  Monsieur  Julian  is  keeping  an  actress 
from  Bobino's ;  it  was  to  be  present  at  her  debut  at  the  Folies- 
24 


370  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Dramatiques  that  he  made  a  pretense  of  his  throat  being  sore. 
The  porter's  wife  is  on  bad  terms  with  the  creature's  mother, 
an  old  fish-hawker,  and  for  a  hundred  sous  crown-piece  she 
gave  me  the  full  account.  This  evening  I  shall  have  a  serious 
explanation  with  monsieur,  my  son." 

"My  friend,"  said  Mme.  Minard,  theatrically,  "I  implore 
you,  be  not  violent," 

*'  Lookout,"  said  Minard  ;  "  everybody  can  see  us.  I  have 
just  asked  the  Abbe  Gondrin  to  give  us  the  benefit  of  his  ad- 
vice ;  we  may  scout  the  priests  when  all  goes  well,  but  when 
trouble  comes " 

"But,  my  friend,  you  take  the  matter  too  seriously;  he  is 
but  young." 

"Yes,"  said  Minard,  "but  there  are  things  that  cannot  be 
overlooked.  The  son  of  a  family  in  the  hands  of  women  like 
her ;  it  is  disreputable  ;  it  is  the  ruin  of  his  family.  You  don't 
know,  Zelie,  what  this  dangerous  class  of  actresses  are — Phryne, 
Lais,  all.  They  say  that  our  money  earned  in  trade  is  but 
stolen ;  that  it  is  gained  by  adulteration  and  trickery ;  they 
empty  our  pockets,  as  they  claim,  to  make  us  disgorge — they 
mean  to,  and  do,  use  every  means  to  effect  our  ruin." 

All  at  once  a  terrific  uproar  put  a  stopper  on  this  conjugal 
aside.  Into  the  dining-room  rushed  Brigitte,  whence  came 
the  sound  of  falling  furniture  and  crashing  glass ;  there  she 
found  Colleville  engaged  in  rearranging  his  cravat  and  assur- 
ing himself  that  his  coat,  crumpled  and  dragged  out  of  shape, 
had  not  one  or  more  rents  in  it. 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  Brigitte. 

"Why  this  old  fool,"  said  Colleville,  "is  gone  crazy.  I 
came  here  to  take  my  coffee  in  his  company,  and,  at  a  little 
joke  I  made,  he  flew  into  so  violent  a  passion  that  he  seized 
me  by  the  collar,  dragged  me  over  two  or  three  chairs  and  a 
tray  of  glasses,  because  Josephine  was  not  able  to  get  out  of 
his  way  in  time." 

"It's  all  because  you've  been  teasing  him,"  said  Brigitte, 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  371 

crossly;  "you  would  have  done  better  to  have  stayed  in  the 
salon  instead  of  coming  in  here  to  play  your  jokes,  as  you  call 
it,  eh  ?  You  always  think  that  you  are  in  the  orchestra  of  the 
Opera-Comique. " 

With  this  sharp  speech,  Brigitte,  resolute  woman  that  she 
was,  felt  that  she  must  get  rid  of  this  ferocious  old  man  who 
threatened  her  household  with  fire  and  blood.  She  approached 
old  Picot,  who  was  tranquilly  amusing  himself  by  burning 
brandy  in  his  saucer. 

"  Monsieur,"  she  cried  at  the  top  of  her  voice,  as  if  she  was 
speaking  to  a  deaf  person  (she  evidently  thought  a  blind  one 
needed  the  same  treatment)  ;  "  I  am  here  to  tell  you  some- 
thing which  you  will  not  like.  Monsieur  and  Madame  Phel- 
lion  are  now  here  and  inform  us  that  Monsieur  Felix,  their 
son,  is  not  coming.     He  has  a  sore-throat." 

"Which  he  got  by  reading  //^^Z  paper,"  cried  the  old  pro- 
fessor, joyfully.  "Well,  that  is  justice.  Madame,  where  do 
you  purchase  your  brandy  ?  " 

"From  my  grocer,  of  course,"  said  Brigitte,  taken  aback 
at  the  question. 

"  Well,  madame,  I  think  you  ought  to  know  that  in  a  house 
where  one  can  get  such  excellent  champagne,  which  reminds 
me  of  that  we  used  to  quaff  at  de  Fontane's  table,  grand- 
master of  the  University,  it  is  shameful  to  keep  such  brandy. 
With  the  same  frankness  I  put  into  everything,  I  tell  you 
plainly  that  it  is  only  fit  to  wash  your  horse's  feet  in  ;  if  I  had 
not  the  chance  to  burn  it " 

"  He  must  be  the  devil  in  person,"  said  Brigitte;  "not  a 
word  to  excuse  himself  about  all  that  glass,  and  now  jaws 
about  my  brandy!  Monsieur,"  said  she,  in  the  same  raised 
diapason,  "Monsieur  Fdix  is  not  coming;  I  think  your 
family  will  be  anxious  at  your  long  absence,  eh?" 

"  Family,  madame ;  I  have  no  family,  as  they  want  to  make 
me  out  to  be  a  lunatic ;  however,  I  have  a  housekeeper,  Ma- 
dame Lambert ;  I  think  she  will  be  surprised  at  my  being  so 


872  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

long  away.  I  think  I  had  better  go ;  but  I  must  confess  that 
I  am  not  sure  I  can  find  my  way  in  this  strange  quarter." 

"Then  take  a  hack." 

**  A  hack  to  go,  a  hack  to  come ;  this  would,  be  an  excel- 
lent chance  for  my  relatives  to  say  I  am  a  spendthrift,"  said 
the  testy  old  fellow. 

"I  have  an  important  message  to  send  into  your  quarter," 
said  Brigitte,  who  found  it  was  necessary  to  bear  the  cost ; 
"my  porter  is  about  taking  a  hack  there — if  you  would  care 
to  take  advantage  of  that " 

"  I  take  it,  madame,"  said  the  old  professor,  rising;  "if  it 
comes  to  the  worst  you  can  testify  for  me  that  I  was  too  nig- 
gardly to  pay  for  hack  hire." 

"Henri,"  said  Brigitte  to  her  domestic,  " take  monsieur 
down  to  the  janitor  and  tell  him  to  do  the  errand  I  told  him 
about ;  also  to  take  monsieur  to  his  own  door  and  be  careful 
of  him." 

"Be  careful !  be  careful  !  "  said  the  old  man,  refusing  the 
arm  of  the  servant ;  "  what  do  you  take  me  for,  madame,  a 
trunk  or  a  piece  of  cracked  china  ?  " 

Seeing  that  she  had  got  her  man  fairly  to  the  door,  Brigitte 
gave  her  mind  free  vent : 

"What  I  said,  monsieur,  is  for  your  own  good,  and  permit 
me  to  remark  that  you  are  not  of  the  most  agreeable  disposi- 
tion." 

"Be  careful  !  "  repeated  the  old  man  ;  "  but  you,  perhaps, 
don't  know,  madame,  that  it  is  words  like  that  that  brings  a 
commission  in  lunacy?  However,  I  won't  be  too  rude  in 
return  for  your  hospitality,  the  more  so  that  I  have  been  able 
to  put  Monsieur  Felix,  who  has  purposely  missed  me,  in  his 
right  place." 

"Get  out,  you  old  brute;  get  out,"  said  Brigitte,  shutting 
the  door  behind  him. 

The  restraint  she  had  placed  upon  herself  compelled  her  to 
drink  a  whole  glass  of  water  before  returning  to  the  salon  j 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  373 

this  obstreperous  guest  had  given  her  "quite  a  turn,"  by  her 
own  expression. 

The  next  morning  Minard  was  shown  into  Phellion's  study. 
The  great  citizen  and  his  son  Felix  were  absorbed  in  an  inter- 
esting conversation. 

"My  dear  Felix,"  said  the  Mayor  of  the  Eleventh,  shak- 
ing hands  heartily  with  the  young  professor,  "it  is  you  that 
brings  me  here  this  morning ;  I  come  to  offer  you  my  con- 
gratulations." 

"  What  has  happened,  then  ?  "  asked  Phellion  ;  "  the  Thuil- 
liers,  have  they  at  last " 

"It  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  Thuilliers,"  interrupted  the 
mayor.  "But,"  he  added,  looking  at  Felix,  "you  don't 
mean  to  tell  me  that  that  sly-boots  has  kept  the  matter  even 
from  you?" 

"  I  do  not  think,"  said  the  great  citizen,  "  that  my  son  has 
ever  hidden  aught  from  me." 

"So,  then,  the  sublime  astronomical  discovery  which  he 
has  communicated  to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  you  know  all 
about?" 

"Your  kindly  feeling  for  me.  Monsieur  le  Maire,"  said 
Felix,  quickly,  "  has  misled  you ;  I  was  but  the  reader,  not  the 
author,  of  the  paper." 

"Oh!  be  quiet!"  said  Minard,  "the  reader  only!  all  is 
known." 

"But  see,"  said  Felix,  offering  Minard  the  "  Constitu- 
tionnel,"  "here's  the  newspaper,  which  announces  the  dis- 
coverer to  be  Monsieur  Picot ;  not  only  so,  but  it  mentions 
the  rewards,  without  the  loss  of  a  moment,  that  have  been 
bestowed  upon  him  by  the  government." 

"  Felix  is  right,"  said  Phellion,  "  that  is  a  faithful  journal ; 
I  think  the  government  has  acted  in  this  with  commendable 
promptitude." 

"  But,  ray  dear  commander,    I  repeat   that  the  secret  is 


874  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

blown ;  your  son  is  shown  to  be  a  most  admirable  fellow. 
Placing  to  the  account  of  his  old  professor  his  own  discovery 
so  as  to  obtain  for  him  the  favors  of  the  authorities,  I  cer- 
tainly do  not  know  of  any  finer  trait  in  all  antiquity." 

"F6lix,"  said  Phellion,  testifying  some  emotion,  "the 
immense  labor  to  which  you  have  devoted  yourself  so  persist- 
ently, those  never-ceasing  visits  to  the  Observatory " 

"But,  my  father.  Monsieur  Minard  has  been  misinformed." 

"Misinformed!  "  repeated  Minard,  "when  the  whole  busi- 
ness was  made  known  by  Monsieur  Picot  himself." 

At  this  statement,  made  in  such  a  way  as  to  preclude  all 
doubt,  the  truth  began  to  dawn  upon  Phellion. 

"Felix,  my  son,"  he  cried,  rising  to  embrace  his  son. 

But  he  was  compelled  to  sit  down  again  ;  his  legs  refused 
to  support  him,  he  became  pale,  and  his  nature,  usually  so  im- 
passible, seemed  ready  to  give  way  under  this  sudden  happy 
shock. 

"Mon  Dieu /^'  said  Felix,  alarmed,  "he  is  ill;  ring  for 
help,  I  beg  you,  Monsieur  Minard." 

He  rushed  to  the  old  man,  rapidly  loosened  his  cravat  and 
collar,  and  slapped  his  hands.  But  this  faintness  was  only 
temporary,  he  was  soon  himself  again  ;  Phellion  pressed  his 
son  to  his  breast  and  there  held  him  for  some  time ;  then,  in 
a  voice  broken  with  emotion  : 

,  "Felix,   my  noble  son,"  said  he,  "so  large  of  heart,  so 
great  in  mind." 

The  bell  had  meanwhile  been  given  a  resounding  peal  by 
the  magisterial  hand  ;  the  whole  household  was  on  its  feet. 

"It  is  nothing,  nothing,"  said  Phellion,  dismissing  the 
servants,  who  had  rushed  in.  But  at  the  same  moment  he 
caught  sight  of  his  wife,  who  had  entered  with  the  others, 
and  resumed  his  habitual  pomposity  : 

"Madame  Phellion,"  said  he,  pointing  to  Fdlix,  "how 
many  years  is  it  since  you  brought  that  young  man  into  the 
world?" 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  375 

Mme.  Phellion,  bewildered  by  the  question,  hesitated  for  a 
moment  before  replying : 

"Twenty-five  years  next  January." 

"Have  you  not  thought,"  continued  Phellion,  "up  to 
now  that  God  has  amply  gratified  your  maternal  longings  by 
making  this  child  of  your  womb  an  honest  man,  a  dutiful 
son,  and  one  gifted  as  a  mathematician,  the  science  of 
sciences?  " 

"Undoubtedly,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  understanding  less 
and  less  at  what  her  husband  was  driving. 

"  Well,"  went  on  Phellion,  "  you  owe  heaven  an  additional 
meed  of  thanks  for  granting  that  you  should  become  mother 
of  a  genius ;  those  toils,  which  so  lately  we  condemned  and 
from  which  we  feared  the  loss  of  our  boy's  reason,  formed 
the  rough  and  steep  path  by  which  men  attain  fame." 

'^Ah  gd!''  said  Mme.  Phellion,  "don't  you  think  it  would 
be  as  well  if  you  would  explain  yourself?  " 

"Monsieur,  your  son,"  said  Minard,  being  more  cautious 
this  time  in  administering  the  happiness  he  was  about  to 
bestow,  and  fearing  another  new  fainting-fit  of  joy,  "  has  just 
made  an  important  astronomical  discovery." 

"Truly?"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  going  up  to  Felix  and 
taking  him  by  both  hands  quite  lovingly. 

"When  I  say  important,"  continued  Minard,  "  I  only  try 
to  spare  your  maternal  emotions  ;  it  is  a  great,  a  bewildering 
discovery,  as  I  said.  He  is  but  twenty-five,  yet  his  name  is 
already  immortal." 

"And  this  is  the  man,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  effusively 
embracing  her  son  Felix,  "  to  whom  that  la  Peyrade  is  pre- 
ferred !  " 

"They  do  not  prefer  him,  madame,"  said  Minard,  "for 
the  Thuilliers  are  not  the  dupe  of  that  intriguer ;  but  he  has 
become  necessary  to  them.  Thuillier  thinks  that  by  his 
means  he  can  become  a  deputy.  The  election  is  not  yet 
won  ;  they  are  sacrificing  Celeste  in  gaining  it." 


376  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  But  that  is  atrocious,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  "  to  consider 
ambition  before  a  child's  happiness." 

"Ah!"  said  Minard,  "Celeste  is  not  their  child;  she  is 
their  adopted  daughter." 

"Yes,  on  Brigitte's  side,"  said  Mme.  Phellion;  "but  on 
the  side  of  Handsome  Thuillier " 

"  My  dear,"  said  Phellion,  "  no  recriminations  ;  the  good 
God  has  sent  us  much  comfort.  Beside,  that  marriage,  about 
which  I  regret  to  see  Felix  does  not  behave  with  his  custom- 
ary philosophy,  may  still  not  take  place." 

Felix  shook  his  head  incredulously. 

"Yes,"  said  Minard,  observing  this,  "the  commander  is 
right.  Last  evening,  when  the  contract  was  to  be  signed, 
a  hitch  occurred.  You  were  not  present,  by-the-by ;  your 
absence  was  remarked." 

"We  were  invited,"  said  Phellion,  "but  at  the  last  mo- 
ment we  felt  that  we  should  be  placed  in  an  equivocal  posi- 
tion, and  then  Felix  was  overcome  with  excitement  and  fatigue 
— which  is  now  apparent  as  having  been  caused  by  his  essay 
read  before  the  Academy.  It  would  have  been  bad  form  to 
go  without  him,  so  we  absented  ourselves." 

The  vicinage  of  the  man  whom  he  had  come  to  pronounce 
immortal  did  not  prevent  Minard,  when  the  chance  was  thus 
presented,  of  rolling  under  his  tongue  that  most  tender  morsel 
of  the  middle-classes — gossip. 

"Figure  to  yourself,"  said  he,  "the  most  extraordinary 
things  that  occurred  at  the  Thuilliers  last  night,  one  succeed- 
ing the  other."  Then  he  started  off  with  the  funny  episoda 
of  old  Picot's  visit,  following  this  by  the  warm  approval 
given  to  Felix  by  the  Abbe  Gondrin  and  the  desire  expressed 
by  the  young  preacher  of  meeting  him. 

"  I'll  call  on  him,"  said  Felix;  "  do  you  know  where  he 
resides?" 

"Rue  de  la  Madeleine,  No.  8,"  replied  Minard;  "  I  have 
just  this  minute  left  him.     I  saw  him  oh  a  most  delicate  mat- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  377 

ter,  and  his  advice  was  shrewd  and  charitable.  But  that  was 
not  the  great  event  of  the  evening.  Every  one  was  present  to 
hear  the  contract  read ;  they  waited  in  expectation  of  the 
notary  for  a  full  hour,  but  he  never  came." 

"Then  the  contract  was  not  signed,"  said  Felix  eagerly. 

**  Nor  even  read,  my  friend.  All  at  once  some  one  came 
in  to  say  that  the  notary  had  started  for  Brussels." 

"Undoubtedly  on  more  urgent  business,"  said  Phellion, 
innocently. 

"  Much  more  urgent,"  replied  Minard,  "  a  little  bank- 
ruptcy of  five  hundred  thousand  francs,  which  the  gentleman 
skipped." 

"  But  whom  is  this  public  officer,"  demanded  Phellion, 
"so  recreant  to  his  trust,  as,  in  this  scandalous  manner,  to 
forego  the  sacred  duties  of  his  calling  ?  " 

"  Think  now !  your  neighbor,  on  the  Rue  St.  Jacques, 
the  notary  Dupius." 

"What !  "  said  Mme.  Phellion,  "so  pious  a  man  as  he? 
Why  he  is  the  parish  churchwarden." 

"Ah!  madame,"  said  Minard,  "it  is  just  those  very  peo- 
ple who  go  it ;  he  is  not  the  only  one." 

"  Tell  us  all  about  it,"  said  Mme.  Phellion,  with  animation. 

"Well,  it  seems,"  Minard  went  on,  "that  this  canting 
swindler  had  the  savings  of  a  number  of  servants  placed  in  his 
hands,  and  that  Monsieur  la  Peyrade — you  see  they  are  all  in 
a  clique,  these  pious  folk — was  charged  with  the  duty  of 
recruiting  clients  for  him  among  that  class." 

"I  always  said  he  was  no  good,  that  Provencal,"  said 
Mme.  Phellion. 

"Just  recently,"  replied  the  mayor,  "he  had  placed  with 
Dupuis  the  savings  of  an  old  housekeeper,  herself  one  of  the 
pious,  amounting  to  quite  a  nice  little  sum ;  my  faith  !  it  was 
worth  a  care — twenty-five  thousand  francs,  if  you  please ;  this 
housekeeper,  named  Madame  Lambert " 

"  Madame  Lambert,"  interrupted  Felix,  in  his  turn  j  "but 


378  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

that  is  M.    Picot's   housekeeper — scrimpy-cap,  a   pale,   thin 
face,  shows  no  hair,  always  speaks  with  lowered  eyes?  " 

"That's  the  very  woman,  a  true  picture  of  a  hypocrite," 
said  Minard. 

"Twenty-five  thousand  francs  of  savings!"  said  Felix; 
"I  am  no  longer  astonished  that  poor  old  Picot  is  always 
pinched." 

"  So  that  some  one  had  to  meddle  with  the  sale  of  his 
books,"  said  Minard,  slyly.  "Well,  however  that  may  be, 
you  can  imagine  that  she  was  in  a  dreadful  state  when  she 
heard  of  the  notary's  flight.  First,  she  went  to  la  Peyrade's 
lodgings — out,  but  dining  at  the  Thuilliers ;  to  the  Thuilliers 
then,  arriving  there  at  ten  o'clock,  when  all  the  gaping  com- 
pany sat  wondering  what  next  to  do,  neither  Brigiite  nor 
Thuillier  having  sense  enough  to  redeem  such  an  awkward 
position  ;  I  can  tell  you  we  all  missed  the  finesse  of  Madame 
de  GodoUo  and  the  talent  of  Madame  Phellion " 

"You  are  too  polite.  Monsieur  le  Maire,"  said  Mme.  Phel- 
lion, primly. 

"  Well,  as  I  said,  there  she  was  in  the  vestibule  and  asking 
for  la  Peyrade,  of  course  being  greatly  excited." 

"Quite  naturally,"  said  Phellion,  "he  was  the  interme- 
diary, the  woman  had  the  right  to  question  him." 

"You  should  just  have  seen  the  Tartuffe,"  continued 
Minard.  "  He  had  scarcely  left  the  room  when  he  returned 
with  the  news.  As  everybody  was  anxious  to  be  going,  there 
was  a  general  stampede.  Then  what  does  our  man  do  ?  He 
goes  back  to  Madame  Lambert,  who  never  ceased  crying  she 
was  ruined  !  she  was  lost ! — which,  of  course,  may  have  been 
true,  but  might  also  merely  have  been  a  scene  carefully  ar- 
ranged between  them — before  all  the  guests  in  the  ante- 
chamber. 'Reassure  yourself,  my  worthy  woman,'  said  the 
editor-in-chief  of  the  '  Echo  de  la  Bievre,'  '  the  investment  was 
made  at  your  own  request ;  consequently,  I  owe  you  nothing; 
but  it  is  sufficient  that  as  the  money  passed  through  my  hands 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  379 

ray  conscience  tells  me  that  I  am  responsible ;  if  the  assignees 
of  the  notary  do  not  realize  enough,  I  will  pay  you  in 
full.'  " 

"Yes,  just  what  I  should  have  done  and  said,"  put  in  Phel- 
lion.     "  Such  upright  conduct  cannot  be  termed  Jesuitism." 

"You!  why,  certainly  you  would  have  acted  the  same,  so 
should  I,"  said  Minard;  '•  but  we  should  not  have  performed 
it. to  the  sound  of  a  brass  band,  but  have  paid  it  quietly,  like 
gentlemen.  But  this  election  manipulator,  with  what  can  he 
pay?     Out  of  the  ^^/./" 

At  this  moment  entered  the  little  servant-boy,  who  handed 
a  letter  to  Phellion  junior — recognizing  it  as  from  M.  Picot, 
and  written  by  Mme.  Lambert.  Obtaining  permission  to 
peruse  it,  and  informing  them  whom  it  was  from,  he  passed  it 
to  his  father : 

"  You  may  read  it  aloud,  if  you  wish,"  said  he. 

"He  rakes  your  hair  nicely,  I  guess/'  said  Minard.  "I 
never  saw  anything  so  comical  as  his  fury  last  night." 

Phellion  took  the  letter  and  in  a  pompous  voice  and  man- 
ner: 

"  My  dear  F61ix,"  began  the  great  citizen,  "  I  have  just  received  your 
note;  it  arrived  in  the  nick  of  time,  for  they  tell  me  that  I  was  in  a  rage 
with  you.  You  say  that  in  being  culpable  in  abusing  my  confidence  (about 
which  I  proposed  giving  you  a  good  whigging),  in  order  to  give  a  knock- 
out blow  to  my  family  by  showing  that  a  man  who  was  capable  of  making 
tlie  elaborate  calculations  necessary  for  this  discovery  you  have  made  was 
not  by  any  means  the  man  to  be  accounted  a  lunatic,  and  to  have  his  af- 
fairs controlled  by  others.  This  argument  pleases  me,  it  is  such  an  excel- 
lent answer  to  the  infamous  proceedings  taken  against  me  by  my  relations; 
I  must  commend  you  for  thinking  of  it.  But  you  sold  that  idea  pretty 
dear  when  you  placed  it  in  juxtaposition  with  a  star,  making  me,  me !  its 
philosopher  and  friend.  It  is  not  at  my  age  and  when  I  have  solved  the 
great  problem  of  '  perpetual  motion '  that  a  man  should  trouble  himself 
about  such  trumpery  rubbish  ;  all  right  for  such  gabies  and  sucking-scien- 
tists as  yourself;  that  is  just  what  I  said  to  the  Minister  of  Instruction  this 
morning,  by  whom  I  must  acknowledge  I  was  received  with  great  urban- 
ity.    I  asked  him  whether,  as  he  had  made  a  mistake  and  sent  them  to 

2  A 


380  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

the  wrong  address,  he  had  perhaps  better  take  back  his  Cross  and  his  pen- 
sion,  though  I  certainly  deserved  them  for  other  things. 

"  '  The  government,'  answered  the  minister,  '  is  not  in  the  habit  of  mak- 
ing mistakes;  what  it  does,  it  always  does  well;  it  never  annuls  an  ordi- 
nance given  under  the  hand  of  his  majesty;  your  excellent  work  has  well 
merited  the  two  favors  granted  by  the  King ;  it  is  an  old  debt,  I  am  only 
too  pleased  to  pay  it  off  in  his  name.' 

"  '  But  Felix  ?  '  I  said ;  '  for  after  all,  for  a  young  man,  it  was  not  such  a 
bad  discovery.' 

" '  Monsieur  F61ix  Phellion,'  the  minister  replied,  '  will  to-day  receive 
his  appointment  as  chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor;  the  King  will  sign 
the  order  this  morning ;  it  happens,  too,  that  just  now  there  is  a  vacancy 
in  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  and  if  you  are  not  a  candidate ' 

•"  I  in  the  Academy  ! '  I  interrupted,  with  the  frankness  of  speech  you 
know  so  well,  'I  execrate  all  the  academies;  they  are  wet  blankets,  as- 
semblies of  slothfulness,  stores  with  fine  signs  and  nothing  to  sell.' 

"  '  Weil,'  said  the  minister,  smiling, '  I  think  at  the  forthcoming  election 
M.  Felix  Phellion  has  every  chance  of  being  elected,  the  influence  of  the 
government  will  be  at  his  back,  which  I  account  a  potent  factor.' 

"  There,  my  poor  boy,  this  is  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  do  to-day  to  re- 
ward you  for  your  good  intentions  and  to  prove  that  I  no  longer  bear  malice. 
I  think  my  relations  will  pull  a  rather  long  face.  Come  and  talk  it  over 
with  me  as  soon  as  possible,  say  about  four  o'clock — for  I  don't  dine  after 
bedtime,  as  I  saw  a  lot  of  folk  doing  last  night  in  a  house  where  I  took 
occasion  to  speak  of  your  talent  in  a  manner  much  to  your  advantage. 
Mme.  Lambert,  who  can  handle  a  pan  better  than  a  pen,  will  distinguish 
herself,  although  it  is  Friday,  and  you  know  she  never  lets  me  off  on  a 
fast  day ;  but  she  promises  me  a  dinner  for  an  archbishop,  with  a  half- 
bottle  of  champagne,  which  if  required  can  be  doubled,  to  redden  the 
ribbon.  «  Your  old  professor  and  friend, 

•'  PiCOT, 
"  Chevalier  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 

"  P.  S. — Is  it  possible  to  obtain  from  your  worthy  mother  a  little  flask 
of  that  excellent  old  cognac  that  you  once  gave  me  ?  Not  a  drop  is  left, 
and  yesterday  I  was  compelled  to  drink  some  that  wasn't  good  enough  to 
wash  a  horse's  feet  in ;  I  did  not  hesitate  to  so  inform  the  charming  Hebe 
who  served  me." 

" Certainly,  yes,  he  shall  have  some,"  said  Mme.  Phellion; 
**  and  not  a  flask  only,  but  a  Hire.** 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  3S1 

"And  I,"  said  Minard,  "who  pique  myself  on  mine,  will 
also  send  him  a  few  bottles ;  but  pray  don't  let  him  know 
from  whom  it  came — be  my  sponsor — for  there  is  no  saying 
how  he  would  take  it." 

"Wife,"  said  Phellion,  "bring  me  a  white  cravat  and  a 
black  coat.  Monsieur  the  Mayor  will  excuse  me,  if  I  leave 
him." 

"  I  must  be  going  myself,"  said  Minard,  "  for  I  have  a  little 
affair  on  with  monsieur,  my  son,  who  has  not  discovered  a 
star." 

Phellion,  not  saying  whither  he  was  going,  though  anxiously 
questioned  by  his  wife,  sent  for  a  hack,  and  half-an-hour  after 
found  himself  in  the  presence  of  Brigitte,  who  was  superin- 
tending the  careful  putting  away  of  the  china,  glass,  and  silver 
used  the  previous  night. 

"Well,  Papa  Phellion,"  said  the  old  maid,  they  had  pro- 
ceeded into  the  salon,  "you  gave  us  the  slip  yesterday;  you 
had  a  keener  nose  than  the  others.  Do  you  know  the  trick 
the  notary  played  us? " 

"  I  know  all,"  said  Phellion,  "  and  the  unexpected  check  you 
have  received  in  the  execution  of  your  projects  is  what  I  shall 
take  as  my  text  for  the  important  conversation  which  I  wish  to 
have  with  you.  At  times  it  seems  as  though  Providence  took 
pleasure  in  counteracting  our  best-devised  plans ;  sometimes 
it  seems  also  to  intimate  that  we  tend  too  much  to  the  right 
or  left,  and  the  obstacles  it  raises  in  our  path  are  apparently 
meant  to  give  us  a  pause  that  we  may  reflect  upon  our  way.*' 

"Providence  !  Providence  !  "  said  the  strong-minded  Bri- 
gitte, "it  seems  to  me  has  something  else  to  do  than  look 
after  us." 

"  That  is  one  opinion,"  replied  Phellion,  "  but  I  have  often 
seen  its  decrees  in  the  little  as  in  the  great  things  of  life ;  and 
certainly  if  it  had  permitted  the  fulfillment  of  your  arrange- 
ments with  M.  de  la  Peyrade  to  have  been  begun  as  intended, 
you  would  not  have  seen  me  here." 


382  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Then,"  said  Brigitte,  "you  think  that  the  notary  having 
defaulted,  the  marriage  will  not  take  place,  eh  ?  But  for  lack 
of  a  monk  the  abbey  did  not  close." 

"My  dear  lady,"  said  the  great  citizen,  "you  will  do  me 
the  justice  to  acknowledge  that  neither  my  wife  nor  myself 
have  attempted  at  any  time  to  influence  your  decision  ;  we 
have  allowed  the  young  people  to  love  each  other  without 
troubling  ourselves  as  to  where  such  attachment  might  lead 
and " 

"To  upsetting  their  minds,"  interrupted  Brigitte;  "that 
is  just  what  love  does,  and  that  is  why  I  deprived  myself  of 
it." 

"  What  you  remark  is  indeed  true  as  regards  my  unhappy 
son,"  replied  Phellion;  "for,  notwithstanding  the  lofty  occu- 
pations by  which  he  has  tried  to  distract  his  thoughts,  he  is  so 
overcome  this  morning,  despite  the  glorious  success  he  has 
attained,  that  he  is  talking  of  circumnavigating  the  globe — 
an  undertaking  which  would  mean  his  absence  from  home  for 
three  years,  if,  indeed  he  escaped  the  dangers  of  a  voyage  so 
prolonged." 

"  Well,"  said  Brigitte,  "  it  is  not  such  a  bad  idea  ;  he  would 
return  consoled,  especially  if  he  discovered  two  or  three  or 
more  stars." 

"His  present  discovery  satisfies  us,"  replied  Phellion,  with 
double  his  usual  solemnity.  "It  is  under  the  auspices  of  that 
triumph  which  has  raised  his  name  so  high  in  the  world  of 
science  that  I  have  the  assurance  to  say  to  you  point-blank : 
I  come,  mademoiselle,  to  ask  you,  on  behalf  of  my  son,  Felix 
Phellion,  who  loves  and  is  beloved,  for  the  hand  of  Made- 
moiselle Celeste  CoUeville." 

"But,  my  little  father,"  replied  Brigitte,  "you  are  too 
late ;  remember  that  we  are  diametrically  engaged  to  la  Pey- 
rade." 

•*  It  is  never  too  late  to  do  well,  they  say ;  yesterday,  in  my 
idea,  would  have  been  too  soon  to  have  presented  myself. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  383 

My  son,  having  no  compensation  to  offer  for  the  disparity  in 
fortune,  could  not  then  have  said :  '  If  Celeste  by  your 
generosity  has  a  dot  which  mine  is  far  from  equaling,  I  have 
the  honor  of  being  a  member  of  the  royal  order  of  the  Legion 
of  Honor,  and  shall  soon,  to  all  appearance,  be  a  member  of 
the  Academy  of  Sciences,  one  of  the  five  branches  of  the 
Institute.'  " 

"Certainly,"  said  Brigitte,  "Felix  is  becoming  a  very 
pretty  match,  but  our  word  is  passed  to  la  Peyrade  ;  his  name 
has  been  put  up  with  Celeste's  at  the  mayor's  office,  and 
only  for  an  extraordinary  accident  the  contract  would  have 
been  signed  ;  he  is  engaged  in  Thuillier's  election,  which  he 
has  put  in  good  shape  ;  we  have  capital  invested  with  him  in 
this  newspaper  business ;  it  would  be  impossible  for  us  to  go 
back  on  our  promise  even  if  we  so  desired." 

"  So,"  said  Phellion,  "  in  one  of  those  rare  occasions  in 
which  reason  and  inclination  point  the  same  way,  you  think 
you  must  be  only  guided  by  the  question  of  interest?  Ce- 
leste, we  all  know,  has  no  inclination  for  la  Peyrade.  Brought 
up  with  Felix " 

"  Brought  up  with  Felix  !  "  interrupted  Brigitte,  "  she  was 
given  a  certain  length  of  time  to  choose  between  Monsieur  de 
la  Peyrade  and  monsieur,  your  son,  that's  how  we  coerce  her, 
and  she  would  have  nothing  to  say  to  Monsieur  Felix,  whose 
atheism  is  well  known." 

"  You  are  mistaken,  mademoiselle,  my  son  is  not  an  atheist ; 
for  Voltaire  himself  doubted  if  there  could  be  atheists ;  no 
later  than  yesterday,  in  this  very  house,  an  ecclesiastic,  as 
celebrated  for  his  talent  as  for  his  virtue,  after  making  an 
eulogistic  speech  in  favor  of  my  son,  expressed  the  desire  of 
becoming  known  to  him." 

''Farbleu  !  to  convert  him,"  said  Brigitte ;  "  but  as  for  this 
business  of  the  marriage,  I  am  sorry  to  tell  you  that  the  mus- 
tard is  mixed  too  late  for  the  dinner  ;  never  will  Thuilliergive 
up  his  la  Peyrade." 


884  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  Phellion,  rising,  "I  feel  no  humili- 
ation in  having  taken  this  useless  step ;  I  do  not  even  request 
you  to  keep  it  secret,  for  I  shall  be  the  first  to  talk  of  it  to  all 
our  acquaintances  and  friends." 

"Talk  away,  my  good  man,  to  whoever  you  wish,"  said 
Brigitte,  bitterly.  "Just  because  your  son  has  discovered  a 
star,  if,  indeed,  he  did  really  discover  it,  and  not  that  old 
man  whom  the  government  has  decorated,  do  you  think  that 
he  can  marry  one  of  the  daughters  of  the  King  of  the 
French?" 

"  Enough,"  said  Phellion,  "  we  will  say  no  more ;  without 
wishing  to  depreciate  the  Thuilliers,  I  might  reply  that  the 
Orleans  family  seems  to  me  the  more  distinguished  of  the 
two.  But  I  do  not  wish  to  introduce  ascerbity  into  our  con- 
versation, and,  therefore,  begging  you  to  receive  the  assurance 
of  my  humble  respects,  I  will  retire." 

This  said  he  made  a  majestic  exit,  leaving  Brigitte  under 
the  sting  of  his  comparison,  discharged  after  the  manner  of  the 
Parthian's*  arrow  in  extremis,  and  she  in  a  rage  all  the  more 
savage  because  the  evening  before  Mrae.  Thuillier,  after  the 
guests  had  gone,  had  had  the  incredible  audacity  to  say  some- 
thing in  favor  of  Felix.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  helot 
was  brutally  snubbed  and  told  to  mind  her  own  business.  But 
this  attempt  at  showing  a  will  of  her  own  on  the  part  of  her 
sister-in-law  had  already  put  the  old  maid  in  a  vile  humor, 
and  Phellion,  speaking  on  the  same  subject,  had  further  exas- 
perated her. 

Josephine  the  cook  and  the  "male"  domestic  received 
the  full  force  of  the  after-clap  resulting  from  this  scene.  Bri- 
gitte found  that  in  her  absence  everything  had  been  wrongly 
done,  so  "turning  to"  herself,  at  the  risk  of  her  neck,  she 
clambered  on  a  chair  to  reach  the  topmost  shelves  of  the 
closet  in  which  she  kept  her  choicest  china  under  lock  and 
key. 

*  Fighting  only  on  horseback,  they  were  noted  archers. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  385 

This  day,  which  for  Brigitte  had  opened  so  badly,  was  to 
turn  out  one  of  the  busiest  and  stormiest  of  all  this  story. 

As  an  exact  historian  we  must  go  back  and  begin  the  day  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  when  we  see  Mme.  Thuillier 
on  her  way  to  the  Madeleine  to  hear  the  mass  which  <*he 
Abbe  Gondrin  celebrated  at  that  hour,  and  afterward  to  ap- 
proach that  holy  table,  a  viaticum  which  pious  souls  never 
fail  to  fortify  themselves  with  when  it  is  in  their  minds  to 
accomplish  some  great  resolution. 

At  eight  o'clock,  as  we  have  learned,  Minard  had  called 
upon  the  young  vicar  by  virtue  of  his  appointment.  The 
Abbe  Gondrin  gently  blamed  him  for  training  his  son  to  a 
profession  which,  while  it  seems  to  lead  to  a  life  of  hard  work 
and  study,  really  tempts  a  youth  to  every  folly  :  barristers 
without  briefs  and  doctors  without  patients,  when  impecu- 
nious, are  the  nursery  grounds  of  revolution  and  mischief;  so, 
when  they  are  rich,  they  ape  the  youthful  aristocracy,  which, 
bereft  of  all  its  privileges  but  the  dolce  far  niente,  devotes  the 
leisure  of  an  idle  and  useless  life  to  training  horses  for  the 
course  or  women  for  the  stage. 

In  this  particular  instance  the  strong  proceedings  contem- 
plated by  the  Mayor  of  the  Eleventh  were  purely  chimerical. 
There  is  no  longer  a  Saint-Lazare  for  the  accommodation  of 
wild  youth,  and  Manon  Lescauts  are  no  longer  kidnapped  to 
America.  The  abbe  suggested  that  the  father  should  suffer 
some  pecuniary  sacrifice ;  the  siren  should  be  paid  off  and 
married  out  of  the  way ;  thus  would  morality  triumph  in  two 
ways.  As  the  girl  had  a  mother,  the  better  plan  would  be  for 
Minard  to  send  for  and  treat  with  her. 

About  mid-day  the  Abbe  Gondrin  had  a  visit  paid  him  by 
Mme.  Thuillier  and  Celeste.  The  poor  child  wanted  some 
further  explanation  of  the  words  by  which  the  priest,  in 
Brigitte's  salon,  had  vouched  for  Felix  Phellion's  salvation. 
It  seemed  strange  to  this  young  theologian  that  without 
85 


386  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

practicing  religion  a  soul  could  be  admitted  to  mercy  by 
Divine  justice,  for  surely  the  anathema  is  explicit:  "  Out  of 
the  church  there  is  no  salvation." 

"My  dear  child,"  said  the  Abbe  Gondrin,  "you  must 
learn  to  better  understand  those  words  which  seem  so  inexor- 
able. It  is  spoken  more  to  the  glorification  of  those  who 
have  the  happiness  to  dwell  within  the  pale  of  our  holy  mother 
the  church  than  a  malediction  on  those  who  are  so  unfortunate 
as  to  be  separated  from  it.  God  sees  the  depths  of  all  hearts 
and  knows  His  elect ;  and  so  great  is  the  treasure  of  His 
loving-kindness  that  it  has  been  given  to  none  to  limit  its 
generosity  and  abundance.  Who  shall  dare  to  say  to  God, 
the  Omnipotent :  '  Thus  far  Thou  shalt  be  generous  and 
munificent.'  Jesus  Christ  forgave  the  woman  taken  in 
adultery ;  on  the  cross  He  promised  paradise  to  the  repentant 
thief;  these  show  us  that  His  wisdom  and  mercy  and  not  man's 
judgments  shall  be  supreme.  He  who  thinks  himself  a 
Christian  may  in  the  eyes  of  God  be  but  an  idolater ;  another 
who  may  be  thought  to  be  a  pagan  may,  by  his  feelings  and 
actions,  and  unknown  to  himself,  be  a  Christian.  Our  holy 
religion  has  this  that  is  divine  about  it — all  generosity,  all 
grandeur,  all  heroism,  are  but  the  practice  of  its  precepts. 
As  I  said  yesterday  to  Monsieur  dc  la  Peyrade,  pure  souls 
must  always  be  won  over  in  the  end  ;  we  have  but  to  give 
them  time ;  it  is  most  important  to  give  them  due  credit,  a 
confidence  which  returns  great  dividends ;  beside  all,  charity 
commends  it." 

"Oh!  my  God!"  cried  Celeste,  "to  see  this  too  late; 
I  who  could  have  chosen  between  Felix  and  la  Peyrade,  and 
dared  not  follow  the  dictates  of  my  lieart.  Oh  !  monsieur, 
could  you  not  speak  to  my  mother?  She  always  listens  to 
your  words." 

"That  is  impossible,  my  child,"  replied  the  vicar;  "if  I 
had  the  direction  of  the  conscience  of  Madame  Colleville 
I  might  perhaps  say  a  word,  but  we  are  too  often  accused  of 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  387 

imprudently  intermeddling  in  family  affairs.  Believe  me, 
my  intervention  would  be  more  like  to  do  harm  than  good. 
It  is  for  yourself  and  those  who  love  you,"  he  added,  glancing 
at  Mme.  Thuillier,  "  to  see  if  the  already  so  advanced  arrange- 
ments could  not  be  changed  in  the  direction  of  your  wishes." 

It  was  written  that  the  poor  child  was  to  drink  to  the  dregs 
the  cup  of  her  own  intolerance;  as  the  abbe  finished  speaking 
his  housekeeper  came  in  to  ask  if  he  would  receive  M.  Felix 
Phellion.  Thus,  like  the  charter  of  1830,  Mme.  de  GodoUo's 
officious  mendacity  had  become  a  truth. 

''Pass  out  this  way,"  said  the  vicar  hastily,  showing  out  his 
two  penitents  by  a  private  passage. 

Life  has  such  strange  encounters  that  it  does  at  times  happen 
that  the  same  form  of  proceeding  must  be  used  by  a  courtesan 
as  a  man  of  God. 

"  Monsieur  I'Abbe,"  said  Felix,  "  I  have  heard  of  the  very 
kind  manner  in  which  you  spoke  of  me  yesterday  in  Monsieur 
Thuillier's  salon  ;  I  should  have  hastened  to  call  upon  you  to 
express  my  thanks  even  if  another  interest  had  not  brought 
me  hither." 

The  Abbe  Gondrin  hastily  passed  over  the  compliments, 
being  anxious  to  learn  in  what  manner  his  services  might  be 
useful. 

"  With  thoughts  which  I  believe  to  be  charitable,"  said  the 
young  professor,  "  you  were  spoken  to  yesterday  about  the 
state  of  my  soul.  Those  who  read  it  so  fluently  are  able  to 
know  far  more  about  my  inner  being ;  for  during  the  past  few 
days  I  have  experienced  strange,  inexplicable  feelings.  I 
have  never  denied  God;  but  face  to  face  with  that  infinitude 
in  which  he  has  permitted  my  mind  to  follow  the  traces  of 
His  work,  I  seem  to  have  gathered  a  less  vague  sense  of  Him, 
and  one  more  immediate ;  this  has  led  me  to  ask  whether  an 
honest,  upright  life  is  the  only  homage  His  omnipotence 
expects  of  me.  And  yet  there  are  numberless  objections 
which  arise  in  my  mind  against  the  worship  of  which  you  are 


388  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

a  minister,  and,  while  sensible  of  the  beauty  of  the  exterior 
form,  in  many  of  its  precepts  and  practices  I  find  myself 
deterred  by  my  reason.  I  may  pay  dearly,  perhaps  the  hap- 
piness of  my  whole  life,  for  the  indifference  and  delay  which  I 
have  shown  in  seeking  the  solution  of  my  doubts.  It  is  now 
that  I  have  decided  to  search  them  to  the  bottom.  None 
better  than  yourself.  Monsieur  I'Abbe,  can  solve  my  doubts. 
It  is  a  cruelly  afflicted  soul  that  appeals  to  you.  Is  this  not 
a  good  preparation  for  receiving  the  seed  of  your  word  ?  By 
what  studies  can  I  pursue  the  search  for  light?" 

The  abbe  protested  his  joy  which,  notwithstanding  his  in- 
sufficiency, he  would  endeavor  to  reply  to  tlie  scruples  ad- 
vanced by  the  young  professor.  After  inviting  him  to  often 
call  upon  him,  and  begging  Felix  to  accept  him  as  his  friend, 
he  asked  him  to  read  as  a  first  step  the  "Thoughts"  of 
Pascal.  A  natural  affinity  in  their  talent  for  geometry  might 
be  found  to  exist  between  them. 

While  this  scene  was  passing,  another  one  of  sharp  and 
bitter  discord,  that  chronic  malady  of  middle-class  house- 
holds, where  the  pettiness  of  mind  and  deep  passion  leaves  an 
open  door  by  which  it  enters,  was  raging  in  the  Thuillier 
house. 

Mounted  on  her  chair,  her  hair  in  disarray,  her  hands  and 
face  disfigured  by  dust  and  dirt,  Brigitte,  feather-duster  in 
hand,  was  cleaning  the  shelves  of  the  closet  in  which  she  was 
replacing  her  library  of  plates,  dishes,  and  sauce-boats,  when 
Flavie  came  in. 

"Brigitte,"  said  she,  "when  you  have  finished  what  you 
are  about  you  had  better  come  and  see  us,  or  else  I  will  send 
Celeste  to  you,  it  seems  to  me  she  intends  giving  us  some  of 
her  nonsense." 

"  In  what  way  ?  "  asked  Brigitte,  going  on  with  her  dusting. 

"Yes,  I  think  she  and  Madame  Thuillier  went  this  morn- 
ing to  see  the  Abbe  Gondrin,  for  she  has  given  me  a  fine 
selting-to  about  Felix  Phellion,  talking  of  him  as  if  he  were  a 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  ?.'m 

god  ;  you  can  easily  understand  that  to  refuse  la  Peyrade  is 
but  another  step." 

"Those  cursed  skull-caps,"  said  Brigitte,  "  they  are  all  the 
time  meddling  in  something.  I  didn't  want  to  invite  him, 
but  you  would  insist." 

*'  But  it  was  only  proper." 

"What  do  I  care  for  what  is  proper?"  replied  the  old 
maid.  "  He  is  a  maker  of  long  speeches,  who  puts  his  foot 
into  it.     Send  Celeste  to  me.     I'll  fix  her " 

At  this  instant  the  servant  announced  the  arrival  of  the 
head-clerk  of  the  notary,  chosen  in  default  of  Dupuis,  to  draw 
up  the  contract.  Not  giving  a  thought  to  her  disordered 
appearance,  Brigitte  ordered  him  to  be  shown  in.  However, 
she  had^the  decency  to  come  down  from  her  perch  to  talk  to 
him. 

"Monsieur  Thuillier,"  said  the  clerk,  "  came  to  our  office 
this  morning  and  explained  the  clauses  of  the  contract  he  is 
so  good  as  to  intrust  to  us.  But  before  writing  out  the  stipu- 
lations of  the  marriage,  we  usually  obtain  from  the  mouth  of 
each  donor  a  direct  expression  of  their  intentions.  Monsieur 
informed  us  that  he  intended  giving  the  bride,  at  his  death, 
the  reversion  of  the  house  he  inhabits,  which,  I  presume,  is 
this  one." 

"Yes,"  said  Brigitte.  "As  for  me,  I  give  three  thousand 
francs  per  year  in  the  Three-per-cents,  capital  and  interest ; 
but  the  bride  is  married  under  the  dotal  system." 

"That  is  so,"  said  the  clerk,  consulting  his  notes.  "Now 
there  is  Madame  Celeste  Thuillier,  wife  of  Louis-Jerome 
Thuillier,  who  gives  six  thousand  in  the  Three-per-cents,  with 
six  thousand  more  at  her  death." 

"That,"  said  Brigitte,  "  is  as  safe  as  if  the  notary  had  seen 
her ;  however,  if  it  is  usual  for  you  to  see  them,  my  sister-in- 
law  is  here;  they  will  conduct  you  to  her." 

And  the  old  maid  told  the  servant  to  take  the  clerk  to  Mme. 
Thuillier.     A  moment  later  the  clerk  returned,  saying  there 


390  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

was  evidently  some  misunderstanding,  for  Mme.  Thuillier 
said  she  had  no  intention  of  making  any  settlement  whatever 
in  the  contract. 

"Here's  a  pretty  go,"  said  Brigitte ;  "come  with  me, 
monsieur." 

And  like  a  cyclone  she  rushed  into  Mme.  Thuillier's  cham- 
ber.    She  was  pale  and  trembling. 

"  What  is  this  you  have  told  monsieur,  that  you  give  noth- 
ing toward  Celeste's  dot?'' 

"Yes,"  said  the  slave,  declaring  insurrection,  but  in  a 
skaking  voice;  "  my  intention  is  to  do  nothing." 

"Your  intentions!"  said  Brigitte,  scarlet  with  rage; 
"that's  something  new." 

"  They  are  my  intentions,"  said  the  mutineer. 

"At  least  you  will  give  your  reason  why?" 

"The  marriage  does  not  suit  me." 

"Ah  !  since  when  ?  " 

"It  is  useless  that  monsieur  should  listen  to  our  discus- 
sion," said  Mme.  Thuillier,  "it  will  not  appear  in  the  con- 
tract." 

"You  do  well  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself,"  said  Brigitte, 
"for  you  don't  appear  in  a  very  favorable  light Mon- 
sieur," said  she,  turning  to  the  clerk,  "it  is  easier  to  mark 
out  things  in  a  contract  than  to  add  them,  eh?" 

The  clerk  nodded  in  the  affirmative. 

"Then  draw  it  up  as  originally  told  ;  later,  if  madame  still 
persists,  you  can  strike  it  out." 

The  clerk  bowed  and  left  the  room.  When  the  two  sisters- 
in-law  were  alone : 

"So  you've  lost  your  head,  have  you?"  asked  Brigitte. 
"  What  freak  is  this  you  have  taken  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  not  a  freak ;  it  is  a  solid  idea." 

"  For  which  we  have  to  thank  your  Abbe  Gondrin ;  you 
dare  not  deny  that  you  went  with  Celeste  to  see  him?"  said 
Brigitte. 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  391 

"Yes,  Celeste  and  I  did  call  this  morning  upon  our  con- 
fessor, but  I  did  not  open  my  mouth  about  what  I  intended." 

"So,  then,  it  sprouted  out  of  your  empty  head?" 

"  I  told  you  yesterday  that  a  more  suitable  marriage  could 
be  arranged  for  Celeste  than  this;  I  don't  see  that  I  should 
despoil  myself  in  favor  of  a  marriage  that  I  do  not  approve." 

"  That  you  approve  !  Upon  my  word,  we  must  begin  and 
ask  madame's  advice." 

"I  know  well  enough  that  I  have  been  a  nobody  in  the 
house,"  said  Mme.  Thuillier.  "But  I  don't  care  for  myself; 
I  do,  though,  care  for  the  happiness  of  a  child,  which  I  look 
upon  as  if  she  were  ray  own " 

"  You  were  never  smart  enough  to  have  one,"  cried  Brigitte; 
■'for  certainly  Thuillier " 

"Sister,"  said  Mme.  Thuillier,  with  dignity,  "I  took  the 
communion  this  morning;  those  are  things  that  I  cannot 
listen  to." 

"There's  just  our  good  sacrament-eaters,"  cried  Brigitte, 
"acting  the  holy  hypocrite  and  bringing  trouble  into  the 
household.  And  you  think  it  will  end  here,  do  you  ?  Thuil- 
lier will  be  here  soon ;  he'll  shake  you  up " 

By  calling  on  the  marital  authority,  Brigitte  made  confes- 
sion of  her  weakness  before  the  unexpected  resistance  made 
to  her  inveterate  tyranny.  Mme.  Thuillier  became  calmer  as 
Brigitte  waxed  more  wroth;  she  could  return  nothing  but 
insolence  : 

"A  drawl,"  she  shrieked,  "a  lazy,  good-for-nothing,  in- 
capable of  even  picking  up  her  handkerchief — this  wants  to  be 
mistress  of  the  house  !  " 

"  That  I  don't  wish  to  be,  but  I  will  be  mistress  of  my  own 
property,  and  I  shall  keep  it  to  use  as  I  think  best." 

"Good  dog,  there!  "  said  Brigitte,  ironically,  '^ her  prop- 
erty?" 

"Mine,  yes,  that  which  I  had  from  my  father  and  my 
mother,  which  I  brought  as  my  dot  to  Monsieur  Thuillier." 


392  THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"And  who  was  it  then  that  turned  it  over — this  money,  and 
made  it  bring  in  twelve  thousand  francs  a  year?" 

"I  have  asked  account  of  nothing,"  replied  Mrae.  Thuil- 
lier,  gently;  "  if  it  had  been  lost  in  the  uses  you  made  of  it 
you  would  not  have  heard  a  word  of  complaint  from  me,  as  it 
has  prospered  it  is  only  fair  I  should  reap  the  benefit.  I  do 
not  reserve  it  for  myself." 

"  That's  how  it  may  happen  if  you  give  yourself  such  airs; 
it  is  not  so  sure  that  you  and  I  will  long  pass  in  and  out  by  the 
same  door." 

"You  think,  perhaps,  that  Monsieur  Thuillier  will  cast  me 
off?  He  must  have  cause,  thank  God,  before  he  can  do  that. 
I  have  been  a  wife  without  reproach." 

"  Viper !  hypocrite  !  heartless  !  "  cried  Brigitte,  at  the  end 
of  her  arguments. 

"My  sister,"  said  Mme.  Thuillier,  "you  are  in  my  apart- 
ments." 

"Get  out  then,  dish-rag,"  yelled  the  old  maid,  in  a  parox- 
ysm of  fury.     "If  I  didn't  restrain  myself " 

And  she  made  a  gesture  of  insulting  menace. 

Mme.  Thuillier  rose  to  leave  the  room. 

"No,  you  don't,"  cried  Brigitte,  pushing  her  down  again, 
"and  until  Thuillier  returns  and  decides  what  is  to  be  done 
with  you,  I  shall  leave  you  locked  up  where  you  are." 

When  Brigitte,  her  face  aflame,  returned  to  Mme.  Colle- 
ville,  she  found  her  brother,  whose  early  return  she  had  pre- 
dicted.    He  was  radiant. 

"  My  dear,"  said  he,  not  noticing  the  state  she  was  in,  "  all 
goes  well  ;  the  conspiracy  of  silence  is  at  an  end  ;  two  papers, 
the  'National'  and  a  Carlist  journal,  have  this  morning  re- 
produced two  of  our  articles,  and  there's  a  little  attack  in  a 
ministerial  paper." 

"All  is  not  going  well  here,  though,"  replied  Brigitte,  "and 
if  things  continue  as  they  are  I  shall  leave  the  barracks." 

"  Wliat  has  upset  you?  "  asked  Thuillier. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  393 

'■Your  insolent  wife,  who  has  made  quite  a  scene;  it  has 
caused  me  to  tremble  all  over." 

"Celeste  made  a  scene!"  said  Thuillier ;  "  then  it's  the 
first  time  in  her  life." 

"  Everything  has  a  beginning,  and  if  you  don't  bring  her  to 
order " 

"  But  what  is  it  all  about — this  scene?  " 

"About  Madame  Thuillier  not  agreeing  that  la  Peyrade 
should  have  her  goddaughter  ;  she  says  she  will  give  nothing 
in  the  contract." 

"Come,  compose  yourself,"  said  Thuillier,  whom  the  ad- 
mission of  the  "  Echo  "  into  the  field  polemic  had  made  into 
another  Pangloss;   "  I'll  soon  settle  all  this." 

"You,"  said  Brigitte  to  Flavie,  "had  better  return  home 
and  tell  Celeste  not  to  see  me;  I  don't  like  conspiracies,  and 
I  might  box  her  ears.  You  can  tell  her  that  if  she  doesn't 
want  to  see  her  dot  reduced  to  less  than  a  bank  messenger  can 
carry  in  his  eye — which  is  as  much  as  you  are  able  to  give  her 
— that  she " 

"But,  my  dear  Brigitte,"  interrupted  Flavie,  turning  res- 
tive under  such  impertinence,  "  you  may  dispense  with  re- 
minding us  of  our  poverty  ;  for  after  all  we  have  never  asked 
you  for  anything  and  we  pay  our  rent  punctually,  and  beside 
all  Monsieur  Felix  Phellion  would  gladly  take  Celeste  even  if 
she  had  no  more  dot  than  a  bank  messenger  could  carry  in  a 

And  she  did  not  forget  to  accent  this  word  as  she  pro- 
nounced it. 

"  Qh  !  so  you  are  going  to  meddle,  too,"  cried  Brigitte; 
"  eh,  well,  go  and  get  your  Felix.  I  know  very  well,  my 
little  mother,  that  this  marriage  doesn't  suit  you;  it  is  dis- 
agreeable to  be  nothing  more  than  mother-in-law  to  your  son- 
in-law." 

At  this  moment  Thuillier  returned ;  his  beatific  air  was 
flown. 


394  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"My  dear  Brigitte,"  said  he,  "  you  have  a  most  excellent 
heart,  but  at  times  you  seem  apt  to  be  violent " 

"The  deuce!"  cried  the  old  maid;  "I  am  tackled  on 
that  side,  too." 

"But,  my  dear  friend,  to  raise  your  hand  against  your 
sister." 

"  I  lift  my  hand  against  that  ninny  ?     Thai's  a  good  'un." 

"And  then,"  continued  Thuillier,  "a  woman  of  Celeste's 
age  cannot  be  made  a  prisoner." 

"Your  wife  ;  have  I  put  her  in  prison  ?  " 

"  You  can't  dispute  my  word,  for  I  found  the  door  double- 
locked." 

^'Farbleu/  that's  because  in  my  anger  at  the  infamous 
things  she  vomited  at  me  that  I  turned  the  key  without 
thinking." 

"Come,  come,"  said  Thuillier;  "these  are  not  proper 
things  for  people  of  our  class  to  do." 

"  Oh  !  after  twenty  years  of  devotion  to  be  treated  like  the 
scum  of  the  earth,"  replied  Brigitte. 

And  rushing  to  the  door,  which  she  violently  slammed  after 
her,  she  went  away. 

Thuillier  stayed  behind  with  Flavie  and  commenced  to  ex- 
patiate to  her  on  the  great  political  and  literary  good  luck  of 
the  morning  when  he  was  again  interrupted,  this  time  by 
Josephine,  the  cook  : 

"  Monsieur,"  said  she,  "will  you  tell  me  where  I  can  find 
the  key  of  the  great  chest  ?  " 

"What  for?"  asked  Thuillier. 

"For  mademoiselle,  who  told  me  to  take  it  to  her  room." 

"  What  is  she  going  to  do  with  it  ?  " 

"  Mademoiselle  is  doubtless  going  a  journey  ;  she  is  getting 
her  linen  out  of  the  drawers,  and  all  her  dresses  are  on  the 
bed." 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  it,"  said  Thuillier;  "go 
and  tell  her  it  is  lost." 


THE    MIDDLE    CLASSES.  395 

"Oh  !  yes,"  said  Josephine,  "I  should  like  to  see  myself 
doing  that." 

Just  then  the  door-bell  rang. 

"That  is  la  Peyrade,  I  guess,"  said  Thuillier  in  a  tone  of 
satisfaction.     In  fact,  the  Provencal  was  admitted. 

"Faith,  my  friend,"  said  Thuillier,  "you  come  just  in  the 
nick  of  time,  for  the  house,  all  on  your  account,  is  turned  up- 
side down  ;  it  needs  your  silvery  tongue  to  restore  it  to  peace 
and  propriety." 

Then  he  told  the  barrister  the  cause  of  the  declaration  of 
this  civil  war. 

Addressing  Mme.  Colleville : 

"Under  the  circumstances,"  said  Th^odose,  "I  may,  I 
think,  without  impropriety  be  allowed  a  few  moments'  inter- 
view with  Mademoiselle  Colleville." 

Here  the  Provencal  showed  his  usual  acumen  ;  he  grasped 
the  idea  at  once,  that  the  key  to  the  situation  was  Mademoi- 
selle Celeste — by  her  means  alone  could  pacification  be  ac- 
complished. 

"I  will  send  for  her  and  leave  you  alone  together,"  said 
Flavie. 

"My  dear  Thuillier,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "you  must,  without 
being  harsh,  let  Celeste  understand  that  she  must  give  her 
consent  without  further  delay.  After  that  leave  her  to  me : 
I  will  do  the  rest." 

When  Celeste  came  in  to  her  godfather : 

"My  child,"  said  Thuillier,  "your  mother  has  told  us 
things  that  have  astonished  us ;  can  it  really  be  true  that, 
with  the  contract  all  but  signed,  you  have  not  yet  decided  to 
accept  the  marriage  arranged  for  you  ?" 

"My  godfather,"  replied  Celeste,  rather  surprised  at  the 
abrupt  interrogation,  "it  seems  to  me  that  I  never  said  this 
to  my  mamma." 

"  Did  you  not  just  now  speak  of  Monsieur  F6lix  Phellion  iii 
terms  of  extravagant  praise?" 


396  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  I  spoke  of  Monsieur  Phellion  as  every  one  else  is  speak- 
ing of  him." 

"Come,  now,"  said  Thuillier,  authoritatively,  "let  us  have 
no  more  equivocation  -,  do  you — yes  or  no — refuse  to  marry 
Monsieur  de  la  Peyrade  ?  " 

"My  good  friend,"  said  the  Provengal,  intervening,  "your 
way  of  putting  the  case  is  too  crude  and  rough,  and,  with  me 
present,  it  seems  altogether  out  of  place.  I  should  like,  if 
mademoiselle  will  permit  me,  I  am  sure  Madame  CoUeville 
will  not  object ;  there  can  be  nothing  in  my  request  for  an 
interview  to  alarm  her  maternal  prudence." 

"So  be  it,"  said  Mme.  CoUeville;  "you  account  yourself 
very  smart,  but  if  you  let  that  child  get  the  better  of  you,  so 
much  the  worse  for  yourself.  Come,  Thuillier,  it  seems  we 
are  in  the  way  here." 

As  soon  as  the  two  designed  for  each  other  were  left  alone : 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  la  Peyrade,  placing  a  chair  for  Ce- 
leste and  taking  one  himself,  "  you  will  admit,  I  think,  that  I 
have  not  pestered  you  with  my  attentions.  I  have  known 
both  the  impulse  of  your  heart  and  the  repugnance  of  your 
conscience ;  I  hoped  that  after  a  time  I  should  have  made  an 
agreeable  refuge  for  those  two  currents  of  sentiments,  but  we 
have  now  reached  a  point  where  I  think  it  is  not  impertinent 
or  indiscreet  to  beg  you  to  let  me  know  upon  what  course  you 
have  decided." 

"Monsieur,"  said  Celeste,  "as  you  speak  so  frankly  and 
kindly  to  me,  I  will  tell  you,  what  you  already  know,  that, 
brought  up  as  I  was  with  Monsieur  F6lix  Phellion,  knowing 
him  longer  by  far  than  I  have  known  you,  the  idea  of  mar- 
riage was  less  repugnant  in  regard  to  him  than  it  would  be  to 
others." 

"At  one  time,"  remarked  Th^odose,  "  you  were  allowed  a 
choice " 

"  True,  but  at  that  time  religious  diflSculties  beset  the 
way." 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  397 

"And  to-day  those  difficulties  have  disappeared  ?  " 

**  Nearly,"  answered  Celeste.  "I  am  in  the  habit  of  sub- 
ordinating my  opinion  to  that  of  others  who  are  wiser  than 
myself,  monsieur,  and  yesterday  you  heard  the  manner  in 
which  the  Abbe  Gondrin  spoke  of  Monsieur  Phellion.  And 
this  morning  he  went  to  see  him." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  la  Peyrade,  with  a  touch  of  irony,  "  it  seems 
he  must  certainly  have  seen  Father  Anselrae,  then  ?  But, 
admitting  that  he  has  become  all  you  wish  on  the  religious 
side,  have  you  reflected  on  the  great  event  which  has  just  taken 
place  in  his  life?" 

"  Most  certainly,  but  that  is  not  a  reason  for  thinking  less 
of  him." 

**  No,  but  it  is  a  reason  why  he  should  think  more  of  him- 
self. His  present  modesty,  and  the  humility,  once  the  chief 
charm  of  his  character,  may  be  replaced  by  great  assumption. 
He  has  discovered  one  world,  mademoiselle ;  will  he  not  strive 
to  discover  two?     Your  rival  will  be  the  whole  firmament." 

"You  plead  your  cause  most  intelligently,"  said  Celeste, 
smiling,  "  so  that  I  can  fancy  you  the  barrister  fully  as  trouble- 
some as  a  husband  as  would  be  M.  Phellion  the  astron- 
omer." 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  let  us  speak  seriously, 
I  am  confident  of  your  extreme  delicacy.  But  do  you  know 
what  is  happening  to  M.  Felix  Phellion  ?  He  has  not  lost 
anything  by  his  devotion  to  his  old  master;  his  pious  fraud  is 
known  to  all,  the  discovery  has  been  granted  as  his,  and  Mon- 
sieur Minard  says  that  he  is  to  be  made  chevalier  of  the  Le- 
gion of  Honor  and  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences. 
Now,  if  I  were  a  woman,  I  own  that  I  should  be  distressed  if, 
at  the  very  time  I  had  decided  to  take  a  man  into  favor,  such 
an  avalanche  of  good  things  should  fall  upon  him  ;  I  should 
dread  lest  the  world  should  say  I  adored  the  rising  sun." 

"  Oh  !  monsieur,"  said  Celeste,  quickly,  *' you  cannot  be- 
lieve me  capable  of  such  baseness." 


398  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"  I,  no,"  said  the  Provencal ;  "  I  should  affirm  precisely  the 
contrary ;  but  the  world  is  rash  and  unjust  and  perverse  in  its 
judgments." 

He  saw  that  he  had  caused  inquietude  and  a  sense  of  dis- 
may in  the  young  girl,  who  made  no  reply. 

"Now,"  continued  la  Peyrade,  "  to  speak  of  a  much  worse 
aspect  of  your  situation,  one  which  is  not  merely  personal,  a 
question,  one  may  say,  between  you  and  yourself:  are  you 
aware  that  at  this  moment  you  are  the  cause  in  this  very  house 
of  terrible  and  most  regrettable  scenes?  " 

"I,  monsieur?  "  said  Celeste,  with  surprise  not  unmingled 
with  dread. 

"Yes;  concerning  your  godmother;  by  the  extreme  af- 
fection that  she  bears  you  she  seems  to  have  become  an  en- 
tirely different  woman  ;  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  she  shows 
a  will  of  her  own.  She  declares  that  she  will  not  make  her 
proposed  liberal  gift  to  you  ;  I  need  not  inform  you,  of  course, 
whom  the  person  is  that  this  rigor  is  directed  against." 

"But,  monsieur,  I  assure  you  that  this  idea  of  my  god- 
mother's was  quite  unknown  to  me." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  la  Peyrade ;  "  it  would  also  be  a  matter 
of  minor  importance  but  for  the  fact  that  Brigitte  takes  your 
godmother's  attitude  as  an  insult  to  herself.  Painful  expla- 
nations have  taken  place.  Thuillier,  between  the  hammer  and 
the  anvil,  could  do  nothing ;  indeed,  he  further  imbittered 
matters,  till  now  Mademoiselle  Brigitte  is  packing  up  to  leave 
the  house." 

"  Monsieur  !  what  is  this  you  are  saying  ?  "  exclaimed  Ce- 
leste, horrified.  "  I  cannot  be  the  cause  of  such  terrible 
harm." 

"  You  did  not  intend  to  be,  but  the  harm  is  done;  I  pray 
heaven  it  may  not  be  irremediable." 

"  But  what  can  I  do,  my  God  ?  "  said  Celeste,  wringing  her 
hands. 

"  I  should  reply,  unhesitatingly,  sacrifice  yourself,  if  it  were 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  399 

not  that  in  the  present  circumstances  I  should  have  to  play 
the  ignoble  part  of  victimizer." 

"Monsieur,"  said  Celeste,  "you  do  not  interpret  me 
aright  \  I  have  certainly  had  a  preference,  but  I  never  con- 
sidered myself  a  victim;  whatever  may  be  necessary  to  restore 
peace  to  this  house  I  will  most  willingly  do." 

"That  for  me,"  said  la  Peyrade,  with  much  humility, 
"would  be  more  than  I  dare  ask  for  myself;  but  for  all  our 
sakes  I  must  say  that  something  further  is  needed.  It  is 
necessary  X\iZX.  Madame  Thuillier  should  hear  this  from  your 
own  lips.  She  will  never,  after  what  has  occurred,  take  the 
word  of  another.  Let  it  seem  that  you  accede  to  my  suit 
with  eagerness — of  course  assumed,  but  sufficiently  so  for  her 
to  fully  believe  it." 

"So  be  it,"  said  Celeste,  "I  shall  know  how  to  seem 
smiling  and  happy.  My  godmother,  monsieur,  has  been  to 
me  a  mother  ;  and  for  such  a  mother  what  would  I  not  un- 
dergo?" 

The  position  was  so  pathetic,  and  Celeste  had  so  artlessly 
betrayed  the  depth  and,  at  the  same  time,  her  determination 
to  make  the  sacrifice,  that,  if  la  Peyrade  had  possessed  any 
heart  at  all,  he  must  have  loathed  his  part ;  but  to  him  Celeste 
was  but  a  rung,  and,  provided  the  ladder  can  hold  and  raise 
you,  who  would  bother  to  ask  whether  it  cared  or  not  ? 
Therefore  it  was  decided  that  Celeste  should  go  to  her  god- 
mother and  prove  to  her  that  it  was  all  a  mistake  to  suppose 
she  had  expressed  objection  to  la  Peyrade.  Then  la  Peyrade 
was  to  take  upon  himself  the  task  of  making  peace  between 
the  two  sisters-in-law ;  and  it  may  be  supposed  that  he  was 
not  wanting  in  words  to  promise  the  innocent  girl  a  life  in 
the  future,  when,  by  his  unfailing  respect,  affection,  and  devo- 
tion, he  would  spare  her  every  regret  for  the  necessity  under 
which  she  had  accepted  him. 

When  Celeste  went  to  her  godmother  she  found  it  but  a 
slight  task  to  convince  her.     The  tension  of  will  necessary 


400  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

for  her  late  rebellion  was  almost  superhuman,  for  she  was 
acting  against  her  every  instinct.  She  was  thus  an  easy  dupe 
to  the  comedy  played  for  la  Peyrade's  benefit  in  Celeste's 
tender  heart.  The  tempest  calmed  on  this  side,  la  Peyrade 
had  no  difficulty  in  showing  Brigitte  that  she  had  gone  rather 
too  far  in  her  attempt  at  suppressing  the  revolt  against  her 
authority.  That  authority  being  no  longer  disputed,  Brigitte 
was  no  longer  incensed  against  her  sister-in-law  whom  she 
had  been  on  the  point  of  slapping,  so  the  quarrel  was  settled 
with  a  few  pleasant  words  and  a  kiss,  poor  Celeste  paying  the 
war  indemnity. 

After  dinner,  which  was  only  a  family  meal,  the  notary 
having  the  contract  in  hand  made  a  call  with  a  "  fair  copy;  " 
he  came  to  submit  it  before  having  it  engrossed.  This  atten- 
tion was  not  surprising  in  a  man  just  entering  into  business 
relations  with  so  important  a  person  as  a  municipal  councilor, 
whom  it  was  to  his  interest  firmly  to  hook  as  a  regular  client. 
La  Peyrade  was  too  shrewd  to  object  to  any  of  the  clauses  in 
the  contract  as  it  was  read.  A  few  of  Brigitte's  changes 
gave  the  new  notary  a  high  opinion  of  the  business  capacity 
of  the  old  maid,  and  showed  la  Peyrade  that  more  precautions 
were  inserted  against  him  than  were  altogether  in  good  taste ; 
but  he  raised  no  difficulties,  he  knew  the  meshes  of  no  con- 
tract could  be  so  closely  drawn  that  a  determined  and  smart 
man  could  not  in  some  way  edge  through  them.  The  appoint- 
ment was  made  for  the  contract  to  be  signed  at  two  o'clock 
next  day,  at  the  notary's  office. 

During  the  rest  of  the  evening,  taking  advantage  of  Celeste's 
promise  to  seem  smiling  and  happy,  la  Peyrade  played,  as  it 
were,  the  poor  child,  forcing  her  to  respond  to  him  in  a 
manner  far  from  the  real  feeling  of  her  heart,  now  wholly 
filled  by  Felix.  Flavie,  seeing  the  Provencal  putting  forth 
all  his  fascinations,  remembered  how,  not  so  long  ago,  he 
had  used  the  same  seductive  manner  to  entangle  her.  ''The 
monster!"  §h^  sa;^  jn  a -liissing  mutter;  but  she  was  forced 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  401 

to  mask  the  torture  beneath  a  smiling  face.  La  Peyrade  was 
approved  of  all,  but  he  was  to  be  shown  a  hero  in  a  past 
service  he  had  done  the  house  of  Thuillier. 

Minard  was  announced. 

**  My  dear  friends,"  said  he,  as  he  came  m,  "I  have  come 
to  make  a  little  revelation  to  you  which  will  cause  much 
surprise.  It  will,  I  think,  be  a  lesson  to  all  of  us  when  the 
question  of  receiving  foreigners  in  our  houses  comes  to  the 
fore." 

"How  is  that?  "  said  Brigitte,  inquisitively. 

"  That  Hungarian  woman  with  whom  you  were  so  delighted, 
that  Madame  Torna,  Comtesse  de  Godollo " 

"Well?"  said  the  old  maid. 

"  Well,"  Minard  went  on,  "  she  is  no  better  than  she  should 
be ;  for  two  months  you  petted  in  your  house  one  of  the  most 
impudent  of  kept  women." 

"Who  crammed  you  with  that  yarn?"  said  Brigitte,  not 
willing  to  admit  that  she  had  been  made  a  dupe  of. 

"It  is  no  yarn,"  replied  the  mayor;  "I  know  the  facts 
myself  de  visu^ 

"  Humph  !  then  you  associate  with  kept  women,  eh?"  said 
Brigitte,  assuming  the  offensive.  "A  nice  state  of  affairs,  and 
suppose  Zelie  knew?  " 

"It  is  not  he,"  said  Thuillier,  knowingly,  "  who  keeps  such 
company,  but  monsieur  his  son ;  we  have  heard  about  it." 

"Well,  yes,"  said  Minard,  quite  provoked  at  the  manner 
in  which  his  communication  had  been  received;  "and  since 
that  impudent  rascal  has  had  the  impudence  to  introduce  his 
trumpery  actress  to  you  so  that  she  might  be  written  up  in 
your  paltry  sheet — for  I  know  about  this — I  cannot  conceal  it. 
It  was  in  her  company  that  I  met  your  friend,  Madame  de 
Godollo.     It  seems  to  me  I  speak  plainly  enough." 

"  Perhaps  it  may  be  plain  enough  to  you,"  replied  Brigitte, 
"  but  unless  you  are  one  of  tliose  worthy  men,  fathers  whom 
their  sons  introduce  to  their  mistresses,  I  should  like  to  know 
2« 


402  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

how  you,  you,  found  yourself  in  company  of  Monsieur  Julian's 
'fair?'" 

"Ah!  you  play  yourself,"  said  Minard,  in  a  fury;  "do 
you  suppose  that  I  am  the  man  to  lend  a  hand  to  my  son's 
profligacy?" 

"I  suppose  nothing,"  retorted  Brigitte;  "you  said:  'I 
found  myself  in  her  company 

"I  said  nothing  of  the  kind,"  interrupted  Minard  j  "I 
did  say  that  I  had  seen  Madame  de  GodoUo,  whose  real  name 
is  Komorn,  and  is  no  more  a  countess  than  you  or  Madame 
Colleville  are,  in  the  company  of  an  unworthy  creature  with 
whom  my  son  wastes  his  money  and  time.  Now,  perhaps  you 
would  like  me  to  explain  the  how  and  why  of  the  meeting." 

"  Why,  yes,"  said  Brigitte,  incredulously  ;  "  the  explanation 
does  not  seem  unnecessary." 

"  To  show  the  manner  in  which  I  shut  my  eyes  on  my  son's 
misconduct,  when  I  was  warned  by  an  anonymous  letter  tell- 
ing of  his  debaucheries,  I  took  steps  to  have  the  evidence  of 
my  own  eyes ;  for  I  know  how  far  an  anonymous  letter  is  to 
be  relied  on." 

"By-the-by,"  said  Brigitte,  in  a  parenthesis,  and  turning 
to  la  Peyrade,  "  it's  funny  we  have  had  none  about  you," 

"  If  you  don't  care  to  listen,"  said  Minard,  nettled  at 
being  interrupted,  "it  is  useless  to  ask  for  particulars." 

"That's  so,"  replied  Brigitte,  "we  are  listening.  You 
wished  to  see  with  your  own  eyes ' ' 

"Yes,"  said  Minard,  "and  on  the  day  of  your  dinner, 
when  I  came  in  so  late,  I  had  been  to  the  Folies-Dramatiques, 
the  scene  of  Julian's  dissipations,  where  this  creature  was  to 
make  her  debut.  I  wanted  to  see  if  that  young  scoundrel  was 
really  there  j  it  is  funny  how  these  actresses  will  cause  such  a 
lunatic  to  make  excuses — you  know  he  said  he  was  too  ill  to 
come  here." 

"Was  he  there?"  said  Brigitte,  showing  little  sympathy 
for  the  woes  of  M.  the  Mayor. 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  403 

**  Yes,  but  not  in  the  audience ;  he  was  on  the  stage  talking 
to  a  fireman ;  he  was  so  far  forward  as  to  interrupt  the  view  of 
sonae  one  in  the  theatre,  who  shouted  :  '  Turn  out  that  cocoa- 
nut.'  Judge  how  my  paternal  heart  must  have  rejoiced  on 
hearing  this  agreeable  admonition." 

"It  is  because  you  have  spoiled  him,  your  dear  Julian." 

"Spoiled  him,  far  from  that;  I  should  have  handled  him 
without  gloves  only  for  having  taken  the  advice  of  the  Abbe 
Gondrin,  who  counseled  tolerance." 

"Just  as  if  priests  understood  anything?  "  saiu  JBrigitte,  in 
great  disdain. 

"Well,  anyway,  it  was  by  his  advice  that  I  was  successful 
in  arranging  with  the  creature's  mother.  I  further  told  her 
that  I  should  cut  off  the  supplies.  She  said  a  good  round 
sum  was  just  the  thing,  as  there  was  a  copying  clerk  in  the 
twelfth  arrondissement  who  had  his  eye  on  Olympe,  and 
would  take  her  at  once." 

"This  copying  clerk,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "did  she  mention 
his  name?" 

"  I  think  not,"  said  Minard  ;  "  at  any  rate,  if  she  did  I  have 
forgotten  it ;  I  settled  everything  in  a  moment  with  the  mother, 
who  seems  to  me  a  pretty  good  sort  of  woman." 

"But  in  all  this  I  see  no  Madame  de  Godollo,"  said 
Brigitte. 

"  Hold  yourself  in  patience,"  said  Minard.  "  *  The  only 
thing  I  fear,'  said  the  mother  of  the  actress,  '  is  the  bad 
advice  which  may  be  given  by  a  Polish  woman,  one  named 
Madame  Cratnone,  who  has  my  girl  by  the  hair  and  does  as 
she  likes  with ;  perhaps  if  you  saw  her  and  hinted  at  some 
little  perquisite  for  herself,  she  might  help  to  play  our  game. 
Shall  I  call  her?  I  won't  name  no  names,  I'll  just  tell  her: 
"  Here's  a  gentleman  as  wants  to  see  you."  '  The  lady  was 
brought  in ;  you  can  imagine  how  astounded  I  was  when  I 
found  myself  face  to  face  with  your  Madame  Godollo,  who 
ran  off,  laughing,  as  soon  as  she  saw  me.' ' 


404  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"And  you  are  sure  of  it  being  her  ?  "  asked  Brigitte.  "  If 
you  only  saw  her " 

The  wily  Provenq:al  was  not  the  man  to  let  such  an  occasion 
as  this  slip,  beside  retaliating  on  the  Hungarian's  practical 
joke. 

"Monsieur  le  Maire  is  not  mistaken,"  said  he  with 
authority. 

"Oh,  so  you  know  her  too,"  said  Mile.  Thuillier,  "and 
you  allowed  vermin  like  this  to  consort  with  us?" 

"On  the  contrary,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  it  was  I  who  with- 
out any  fuss  or  scandal,  and  without  informing  any  person, 
rid  your  house  of  her  company.  You  remember  how  suddenly 
the  woman  went  away  ;  it  was  I,  who,  having  discovered  what 
she  was,  gave  her  two  days  in  which  to  clear  out,  threatening 
unless  she  did  so  to  discover  the  whole  truth  to  you." 

"My  dear  fellow,"  said  Thuillier,  seizing  the  hand  of  the 
barrister,  "you  acted  with  great  prudence  and  determination. 
This  is  but  another  obligation  you  have  placed  us  under." 

"You  see,  mademoiselle,"  said  la  Peyrade,  addressing 
Celeste,  "the  strange  protectress  a  friend  of  yours  had." 

"Thank  God!  "  replied  Mme.  Thuillier,  "Felix  Phellion 
is  above  all  such  vile  things." 

"Oh  !  there.  Papa  Minard,"  said  Brigitte,  "We'll  all  keep 
mum  as  to  this.  Our  mouths  shall  be  kept  locked  about  Mon- 
sieur Julian's  escapades.     You  will  take  a  cup  of  tea?" 

"Willingly,"  replied  Minard. 

"Celeste,"  said  the  old  maid,  "ring  for  Henri  and  have 
him  put  the  large  kettle  on  the  fire." 

The  next  day  Brigitte,  to  quote  Thuillier,  got  on  the 
"rampage"  early  in  the  morning,  although  the  visit  to  the 
notary  was  not  to  be  made  until  two  in  the  afternoon.  She 
prevented  Thuillier  going  to  the  office;  she  worried  Josephine 
the  cook  about  hurrying  on  the  breakfast,  and,  notwithstand- 
ing the  results  of  the  previous  day,  with  difficulty  restrained 
herself  from  nagging  at  Mme.  Thuillier.     Then  she  went  in  to 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  AW> 

the  CoUevilles  and  made  the  same  disturbance ;  Flavie  was 
too  elegant ;  Celeste  was  not  wearing  the  hat  and  dress  in 
which  she  wished  her  to  appear ;  Colleville,  who  could  not  be 
detained  from  his  office,  must  go  in  his  dress  suit  and  had  to 
set  his  watch  by  hers  that  he  might  have  no  excuse  for  being 
tardy.  The  most  amusing  thing  of  it  all  was  that  Brigitte, 
looking  so  much  after  the  others,  was  very  nearly  late  herself. 
.  At  half-past  one  la  Peyrade,  Thuillier,  Colleville,  Mme. 
Thuillier,  and  Celeste  were  assembled  in  the  salon.  Flavie 
joined  them  soon  after,  fastening  her  bracelets  as  she  came  to 
disarm  any  squabbling  ;  she  was  relieved  to  find  that  she  was 
ready  before  Brigitte.  As  for  her,  already  furious  at  finding 
herself  late,  she  found  another  cause  for  vexation.  The 
event  seemed  to  require  the  wearing  of  a  corset,  a  refinement 
in  which  she  seldom  indulged.  Now,  the  unhappy  maid,  who 
was  at  that  time  engaged  in  lacing  her,  tried  to  discover  just 
how  tight  she  wanted  them  drawn  ;  she  alone  knew  the  storms 
and  terrors  of  a  corset-day, 

"I  had  rather,"  said  the  girl,  "lace  the  obelisk;  I  believe 
it  would  turn  out  a  better  shape ;  I  know,  at  any  rate,  it 
couldn't  use  its  mouth  as  much." 

While  those  in  the  salon  were  laughing  and  talking,  under 
their  breaths,  at  the  flagrant  breach  of  punctuality  in  which 
Queen  Elizabeth  was  caught,  the  porter  came  in  and  gave  a 
sealed  package  to  Thuillier,  addressed  to  "  M.  Thuillier,  pro- 
prietor of  the  *  Echo  de  la  Bievre  ' — Urgent." 

Opening  the  envelope  he  found  it  contained  a  copy  of  a 
ministerial  paper  which  had  hitherto  shown  itself  discourteous 
and  hostile,  refusing  to  "exchange,"  a  thing  usually  made 
willingly  between  all  newspapers. 

Puzzled  at  this  being  sent  to  his  house  instead  of  the  office 
of  the  "  Echo,"  he  hastily  unfolded  the  sheet  and  read  with  an 
emotion  that  may  be  imagined  the  following  article,  recom- 
mended to  his  especial  notice  by  a  circle  in  red  ink  : 


406  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

An  obscure  organ  was  about  expiring  in  its  darkness,  when  a  person  of 
recent  ambition  bethought  himself  of  galvanizing  it.  His  object  was  to 
make  it  a  stepping-stone  to  climb  from  his  municipal  functions  to  the 
envied  one  of  a  deputy.  By  good  fortune  this  intrigue  has  floated  to  the 
surface.  The  electors  will  certainly  not  be  caught  by  such  a  cunning 
manner  of  advancing  one's  own  interests;  when  the  proper  time  arrives, 
if  ridicule  has  not  already  done  justice  by  routing  this  absurd  candidate, 
we  shall  ourselves  prove  to  the  nincompoop  that  for  a  man  to  attain  to  the 
honor  of  representing  the  country,  something  more  is  required  than 
haying  the  money  with  which  to  buy  a  paper  and  to  hire  a  whitewasher  to 
put  the  horrid  jargon  of  his  articles  and  pamphlets  into  decent  French. 
We  confine  ourselves  to-day  to  this  brief  notice,  but  our  readers  may  rely 
on  us  keeping  them  fully  posted  as  to  the  progress  of  this  electoral  farce, 
if  such  be  the  case  that  the  thing  is  courageously  continued. 

Thuillier  twice  read  this  declaration  of  war,  which  left  him 
anything  but  calm  and  impassive ;  then,  taking  la  Peyrade 
aside : 

"See  this,"  said  he;  "  it  looks  serious." 

*'Well?"  said  he. 

"How— well?"  asked  Thuillier. 

"Yes,  what  is  there  particularly  serious  in  this?" 

"  What  is  there  that  is  serious  ?  Why,  the  article  is  injurious 
to  me." 

"You  cannot  doubt/'  said  la  Peyrade,  "that  some  virtuous 
C^rizet  is  doing  it  in  a  spirit  of  revenge  by  throwing  this 
fire-cracker  between  your  legs." 

"  Cerizet  or  anybody  else  who  wrote  this  diatribe  is  an  in- 
solent fellow,"  said  Thuillier,  getting  excited,  "  and  the  matter 
shall  not  rest  here." 

"As  for  me,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "I  should  make  no  re- 
joinder. You  are  not  named,  though  the  attack  is  aimed  at 
you ;  we  should  let  the  enemy  more  openly  declare  himself, 
then  when  we  discover  him — rap  his  knuckles." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Thuillier ;  "it  is  impossible  that  I  should 
rest  under  such  an  insult." 

"The  devil!"  said  the  barrister;  "  what  a  thin  skin  yon 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  407 

have.  You  must  bear  in  mind,  my  dear  boy,  that  you  are  a 
journalist,  and  a  candidate ;  you  must  harden  yourself  to  the 
like  of  this." 

"  I,  my  friend  ;  I  make  it  a  principle  of  mine  that  I  allow 
no  one  to  tread  on  my  toes.  They  announce,  beside,  that 
they  will  keep  it  up.  So  I  am  going  to  cut  off  these  imperti- 
nences." 

"Well,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "in  journalism,  as  in  being  a 
candidate,  a  hot  temper  has  its  benefits ;  it  makes  a  man  re- 
spected ',  it  stops  attacks ' ' 

''Certainly,"  said  Thuillier,  '' principiis  obsta.  Not  to-day, 
for  we  haven't  the  time,  but  to-morrow,  I  shall  lay  this  article 
before  the  court." 

*'  The  court  !  "  exclaimed  the  Provencal ;  "  go  to  law  about 
such  a  matter  as  this  ?  But  there  is  no  case  ;  neither  you  nor 
the  paper  is  named ;  beside,  a  lawsuit  is  a  pitiable  business ; 
you'll  look  like  a  boy  who  has  been  fighting  and  got  licked 
running  to  complain  to  his  mammy  or  his  schoolmaster.  Now, 
if  you  said  that  you  would  allow  Fleury  to  be  put  into  the 
question,  I  could  understand  it,  though  even  then  it  would 
be  difficult  to  do,  for  this  is  so  entirely  personal,  it  would 
seem," 

"Pshaw  !  "  said  Thuillier,  "do  you  imagine,  for  example, 
that  I  am  going  to  commit  myself  with  a  C6rizet  or  any  other 
newspaper  knocker-out  ?  I  pique  myself,  my  dear,  on  possess- 
ing civic  courage  which  does  not  give  in  to  prejudice;  and 
which,  instead  of  taking  the  law  into  its  own  hands,  has  re- 
course to  that  means  of  defense  provided  by  law.  Beside,  the 
new  law  against  dueling  may  be  enforced ;  I  have  no  desire 
to  spend  one  or  two  years  in  prison." 

"We  can  discuss  all  this  later,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "here  is 
your  sister ;  she  would  think  all  was  lost  if  it  reached  her 
ears." 

Seeing  Brigitte  come  in,  Colleville  shouted :  "  Standing 
room  only,"  and  sang  the  refrain  of  "la  Parisienne." 


408  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"God's  sake!  Colleville,  how  vulgar  you  are,"  said  tnc 
tardy  one,  hastening  to  throw  a  stone  into  the  other's  garden 
before  one  could  be  thrown  into  hers. 

"Well,  are  we  all  ready  ?  "  she  added,  arranging  her  cloak 
before  the  glass.  "  What  time  is  it  ?  It  won't  do  to  be  there 
before  time  like  country  people." 

"  One  fifty,"  said  Colleville  ;   "  I  go  by  the  Tuileries." 

"We  are  just  right,  then,"  said  Brigitte ;  "it  will  take 
about  that  much  time  to  get  to  the  Rue  Caumartin.  Jose- 
phine," she  cried,  going  to  the  door  of  the  drawing-room, 
"  we  dine  at  six ;  therefore,  be  sure  to  put  the  turkey  to  roast 
at  the  right  time,  and  just  don't  let  it  burn,  like  the  last  one. 
Gracious!  what's  that?"  and  with  a  hasty  movement  she 
closed  the  door  ske  had  been  holding  open.  "  What  a  nui- 
sance !  I  hope  Henri  will  have  sense  enough  to  say  we  are 
out." 

Not  at  all ;  Henri  came  in  to  say  that  an  aged  gentleman, 
wearing  decorations,  very  genteel,  had  asked  to  be  received 
on  urgent  business. 

"Why  didn't  you  say  we  were  out,  Mister  Orator?  " 

"  I  should  have  done  so,  if  mademoiselle  had  not  opened 
the  door  of  the  salon  so  that  the  gentleman  could  see  all  the 
family  assembled." 

"  Of  course  ;  you're  never  in  the  wrong,  are  you  ?  " 

"  What  answer  shall  I  make  him  ?  "  asked  the  servant. 

"Say,"  replied  Thuillier,  "that  we  are  exceedingly  sorry 
that  we  are  unable  to  receive  monsieur,  but  that  we  are  ex- 
pected at  the  notary's  to  sign  a  marriage-contract,  and  that  if 
he  will  return  in  two  hours " 

"I  have  already  told  him  all  that,"  said  Henri,  "but  he 
says  the  matter  is  more  important  to  yourself  than  him." 

"Then  show  him  into  my  study,"  said  Thuillier;  and, 
opening  a  door  from  the  salon,  he  went  in  first  to  receive  his 
guest. 

Instantly  Brigitte's  eye  was  at  the  keyhole : 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  409 

**  What  an  imbecile  that  Thuillier  is ;  he  has  given  him  a 
seat  at  the  farther  end  of  the  room  so  it  is  impossible  that  I 
can  hear  what  they  are  saying." 

La  Peyrade  covered  an  inward  agitation  by  an  outward  air 
of  indifference;  he  approached  the  three  ladies  and  greeted 
C6leste  most  graciously,  who  responded  with  the  smiling, 
happy  satisfaction  that  her  part  consisted  in.  As  for  Colle- 
ville,  he  was  composing  an  anagram  on  these  six  words  :  le 
journal  V^^ Echo  de  la  Bievre,'^  and  had  arrived  at  the  follow- 
ing combination  of  letters,  little  reassuring,  as  far  as  it  went, 
to  the   future  of  that   paper:      O  d^ Echo,  jarni !   la  bevue 

reel ;  but  a  final  E  was  lacking  to  complete — O  but  the 

Echo's  a  blunder :   this,  of  course,  was  an  imperfect  finish. 

"He  takes  a  lot  of  snuff,"  said  the  peeping  Brigitte,  her 
eye  glued  to  the  keyhole  ;  "his  gold  snuff-box  is  larger  than 
Minard's ;  I  never  saw  one  so  large;  perhaps,  though,"  said 
she,  as  a  running  comment,  "  it's  only  silrer-gilt.  He's  doing 
the  talking  and  Thuillier  sits  listening  like  a  dunderhead. 
Pretty  soon  I  shall  go  in  and  tell  them  they  can't  keep  ladies 
waiting  like  this." 

Just  as  she  had  put  her  hand  on  the  lock  she  heard  Thuil- 
lier raise  his  voice,  and  that  made  her  take  another  squint 
through  the  keyhole. 

"  He's  standing  up;  he's  evidently  going  away,"  said  she, 
with  satisfaction. 

A  moment  later  she  saw  she  was  mistaken,  for  the  little  old 
man  had  only  left  his  chair  to  amble  up  and  down  the  room 
to  continue  the  conversation  with  greater  freedom. 

"  By  my  faith  !  I'm  going  in,"  said  she,  "  to  tell  Thuillier 
we  are  going  without  him  ;  he  can  follow  us." 

So  saying  the  old  maid  gave  two  imperious  sharp  raps  on 
the  door,  and  then  resolutely  entered  the  study. 

La  Peyrade,  goaded  by  anxiety,  had  the  bad  taste  to  look 
through  the  keyhole  ;  he  thought  he  recognized  the  "  com- 
mander" who  had  waited  upon  Mme.  de  GodoUo.     Then  he 


410  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

saw  Thuillier  addressing  his  sister  with  gestures  of  authority 
very  unlike  his  usual  style  of  deference  and  submission, 

"  Thuillier  finds  some  interest  in  that  creature's  talk,"  said 
Brigitte,  reentering  the  salon.  **  He  told  us  to  wait  until  he 
is  through,  ordering  me  very  bluntly  to  leave  them.  Really 
it  seems  to  me  that  since  he  has  begun  to  make  newspapers 
that  I  don't  know  him  ;  one  would  think  he  led  the  world  with 
a  wand." 

**  I  am  afraid  he  is  being  entangled  by  some  adventurer," 
said  la  Peyrade.  "  That  old  man  I  think  I  saw  with  Madame 
Komorn  on  the  day  I  told  her  to  clear  out ;  he  must  belong  to 
the  same  crowd." 

"Why,  you  ought  to  have  told  me  this!  "  said  Brigitte; 
**  I  should  mighty  soon  have  asked  after  the  countess,  and  let 
him  know  what  we  think  of  his  Hungarian." 

Soon  Thuillier  entered  the  room,  his  face  clouded  with  care, 
his  manner  exceedingly  grave. 

"  My  dear  la  Peyrade,"  said  he,  "  you  did  not  inform  me 
that  another  proposal  of  marriage  had  been  seriously  con- 
sidered by  you?  " 

"  Indeed  I  did ;  I  told  you  that  I  had  been  offered  a  very 
wealthy  heiress,  but  that  my  heart  was  here  ;  I  did  not  choose 
to  go  further  into  the  matter,  and  so  nothing  came  of  it." 

"  My  friend,  the  conversation  I  have  just  had  has  been 
most  instructive  to  me  ;  when  you  know  what  I  know,  with  many 
other  things  personal  to  yourself,  of  which  I  shall  inform  you 
privately,  I  believe  you  will  enter  into  my  ideas.  One  thing 
is  positive,  we  shall  not  go  to  the  notary's  to-day.  Were  I  in 
your  place  I  should  at  once  go  and  see  Monsieur  du  Portail." 

"Again  that  name  !  it  pursues  me  like  remorse,"  cried  la 
Peyrade. 

"  But,  my  poor  boy,"  said  Brigitte  to  Thuillier,  "  you  have 
been  bamboozled  by  a  rascal ;  this  man  belongs  to  the  Godollo 
clique." 

"Madame  de  Godollo,"  replied  Thuillier,  "is  not  at  all 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  411 

what  you  suppose  her  to  be  ;  the  best  thing  this  house  can  do  is 
never  to  say  anything  about  her,  good  or  evil.  As  to  la  Pey- 
rade,  as  this  is  not  the  first  invitation  he  has  received,  I  cannot 
for  the  life  of  me  see  why  he  hesitates  to  go  and  see  Monsieur 
du  Portail." 

"  The  deuce  is  in  it  if  that  old  fellow  has  not  completely 
fooled  you,"  said  Brigitte. 

"I  tell  you  this,  that  that  old  man  is  all  that  his  exterior 
shows.  He  has  seven  crosses,  he  drives  a  handsome  equipage, 
and  he  has  told  me  things  that  have  absolutely  astounded 
me. 

"Well,  perhaps  he's  a  fortune-teller,  like  Madame  Fon- 
taine." 

"Well,  if  he  is  not  a  magician,  he  has  a  very  long  arm," 
said  Thuillier,  "  and  no  good  can  be  had  by  neglecting  his 
advice.  Why,  he  only  caught  one  glance  at  you,  Brigitte, 
and  he  said  you  were  a  master-woman  and  born  to  com- 
mand." 

"  The  fact  is,"  replied  Brigitte,  licking  her  chops  after  this 
compliment  like  a  cat  lapping  cream,  "  he  has  a  well-bred  air, 
this  little  old  man.  Listen  to  me,  my  dear  boy,"  added  she, 
turning  to  and  addressing  la  Peyrade,  "  when  such  a  bigwig 
wants  to  see  you,  why  go  and  see  him — them's  my  advice. 
Go  and  see  this  du  Portail.  I  don't  see  that  it  would  commit 
you  to  anything." 

"Most  certainly,"  said  Colleville ;  "were  I  but  you  I 
would  pay  thirty  calls  on  du  Portail,  or  all  the  Porta;/?,*  or 
Voxiers,  or  'Ponenis,  or  Voxiwines  on  earth,  if  I  should  only 
be  asked." 

The  scene  was  beginning  to  be  very  like  that  in  the  "Bar- 
bier  de  Seville,"  when  everybody  tells  Basil  to  go  to  bed,  till 
he  feels  in  quite  a  fever.  La  Peyrade  took  up  his  hat  in  a 
huff  and  went  whither  his  destiny  called  him  :    Quo  sua  fata 

vocabant. 

*  A  pun  impossible  to  translate. 

2   B 


412  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

On  arriving  at  the  Rue  Honore-Chevalier,  la  Peyrade  felt 
a  doubt ;  the  dilapidated  appearance  of  the  house  where  he 
was  to  call  made  him  think  he  had  mistaken  the  number. 
How  could  a  person  of  M.  du  Portail's  importance  live  in 
such  a  place !  But  when  he  introduced  himself,  the  deport- 
ment of  Bruno,  the  old  valet,  the  appearance  of  the  furniture 
and  the  other  appurtenances  made  him  think  he  had  come 
aright.  His  surprise  was  great  when  he  found  himself  in  the 
presence  of  the  commander,  so-called  by  Mme.  de  Godollo, 
the  very  man  whom  he  had  so  recently  seen  at  Thuillier's. 

"At  last,"  said  du  Portail,  rising  and  drawing  forward  a 
chair,  **  we  meet  my  recalcitrant  gentleman ;  your  ear  has 
taken  some  pulling,  though." 

"May  I  know,  monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  haughtily,  and 
not  taking  the  seat  offered  him,  "what  interest  you  can  pos- 
sibly have  in  meddling  in  my  affairs?  I  do  not  know  you, 
but  I  may  add  that  the  place  in  which  I  once  happened  to  see 
you  did  not  create  an  absolutely  unconquerable  desire  to  make 
your  acquaintance." 

"  Where  did  you  see  me  ?  "  asked  du  Portail. 

"  In  the  lodging  of  a  kind  of  street-walker,  who  went  by 
the  name  of  Madame  la  Comtesse  de  Godollo." 

"  Where  monsieur  himself  was  presumably  calling,  with  a 
less  disinterested  reason  than  my  own,"  said  the  little  old 
man. 

"I  am  not  here,"  said  Thdodose,  "to  bandy  wit.  I  have 
the  right,  monsieur,  to  demand  an  explanation  of  your  pro- 
ceedings in  reference  to  myself.  Do  not,  I  beg  you,  delay 
them  with  a  facetiousness  that  I  shall  be  far  from  appreci- 
ating." 

"Then,  my  dear  fellow,"  said  du  Portail,  "do  sit  down; 
I  am  not  in  the  humor  to  dislocate  my  neck  by  talking  to  such 
a  great  height  as  you  are  at. ' ' 

This  was  a  reasonable  intimation,  and  was  given  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  convey  the  fact  that  lordly  airs  would  not  alarm 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  413 

the  old  gentleman.  La  Peyrade,  as  offensively  as  might  be, 
therefore  deferred  to  his  host's  wishes. 

"Monsieur  Cerizet/'  said  du  Portail,  "a  man  of  exceed- 
ingly high  position  in  the  world,  and  who  has  the  honor  to 
be  one  of  your  friends " 

"I  no  longer  see  the  man,"  said  la  Peyrade,  tartly,  under- 
standing the  old  man's  malicious  insinuation. 

"But  the  time  has  been,"  replied  du  Portail,  "when  you 
did  occasionally  see  him,  as,  for  example,  when  you  paid  for 
his  dinner  at  the  Rocher  de  Cancale — I  was  about  to  say  that 
I  requested  the  virtuous  Monsieur  Cerizet  to  sound  you  as  to 
a  marriage " 

"Which  I  refused,"  mterrupted  Th^odose,  "and  which  I 
still  refuse,  with  more  energy  than  ever." 

"  Precisely,"  replied  the  gentleman,  "  that  is  the  question  ; 
it  is  to  talk  of  that  business  that  I  have  waited  so  long  a  time 
to  meet  you.     I  think,  too,  that  you  will  accept  it." 

"But  this  crazy  girl  that  you  are  flinging  at  my  head," 
said  la  Peyrade,  "who  is  she?  She  is  not  your  daughter, 
nor  a  relative,  I  suppose,  for  in  such  a  case  you  would  show 
more  decency  in  chasing  a  husband  for  her." 

"This  girl,"  said  du  Portail,  "is  the  daughter  of  one  of 
my  friends  ;  she  lost  her  father  some  ten  years  ago,  since  which 
time  she  has  been  living  with  me ;  I  have  given  her  every  care 
demanded  by  her  sad  condition.  Her  fortune,  to  which  I 
have  greatly  added,  in  addition  to  my  own  which  I  intend 
leaving  her,  will  make  her  a  very  wealthy  heiress.  I  know 
that  you  have  no  aversion  to  handsome  dots,  for  you  have 
sought  for  them  in  even  the  lowest  ranks,  in  the  Thuilliers' 
house,  for  instance ;  or,  to  use  your  own  words,  in  that  of  a 
street-walker  whom  you  hardly  knew ;  I  could  therefore  figure 
on  your  being  willing  to  accept  at  my  hands  a  very  rich  young 
woman,  especially  as  her  infirmity  is  pronounced  curable  by 
the  best  physicians ;  whereas  you  can  never  cure  Monsieur 
and  Mademoiselle  Thuillier — the  one  of  being  a  fool,   the 


414  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

other  of  being  a  termagant — any  more  than  you  could  cure 
Madame  Komorn  of  being  extremely  giddy  and  of  an  easy 
virtue." 

**  It  might  suit  my  convenience,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "to 
marry  the  goddaughter  of  a  fool  and  vixen  if  I  choose  her 
myself,  or  I  might  become  the  husband  of  a  coquette,  if  the 
passion  so  seized  me  ;  but  the  Queen  of  Sheba,  if  imposed 
upon  me,  neither  you,  monsieur,  nor  the  most  able  or  power- 
ful man  living  could  force  me  to  accept." 

"  So  for  that  very  reason  I  address  myself  to  your  good 
sense  and  intelligence  ;  but  in  order  to  speak  to  people  we 
have  to  come  face  to  face  with  them.  Just  let  us  see  what 
your  position  is.  Don't  get  angry  if,  like  a  surgeon  who 
wishes  to  save  his  patient,  I  place  my  hands  mercilessly  on 
the  wounds  of  a  life  up  to  now  so  laborious  and  tempest- 
tossed.  The  first  point  to  make  is  that  the  Celeste  CoUeville 
affair  is  ended  for  you." 

**  Why  so  ?  "  asked  la  Peyrade. 

"  Because  I  have  just  seen  Thuillier  and  terrified  him  with 
a  picture  of  all  the  disasters  he  has  already  incurred,  and  those 
he  will  further  incur  if  he  persists  in  the  thought  of  giving 
you  his  goddaughter  in  marriage.  He  knows  that  it  was  I 
who  annulled  Madame  du  Bruel's  kindness  in  the  matter  of 
the  Cross  ;  that  it  was  I  who  had  his  pamphlet  seized  ;  that  I 
sent  that  Hungarian  into  his  house  to  play  you  all  so  neatly ; 
that  it  has  been  my  care  to  see  that  the  ministerial  journals 
have  commenced  a  fire  which  will  grow  fiercer  with  each  suc- 
ceeding day — not  to  mention  other  machinery  which  will  be 
set  in  motion  to  oppose  his  candidacy.  So  you  see,  my  dear 
sir,  not  only  will  you  lose  the  credit  of  being  the  great  help 
of  his  election,  but  that  you  are  actually  the  stumbling-block 
to  Thuillier's  ambition.  This  is  enough  to  prove  to  you  that 
the  side  by  which  you  imposed  yourself  upon  that  family, 
who  never  liked  you  at  the  bottom,  is  now  quite  reduced  and 
dismantled." 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  415 

"  But  you  that  flatter  yourself  that  you  have  done  all  this," 
said  la  Peyrade,  "  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  won't  reply  that  you  are  very  inquisitive,  for  I  intend 
later  to  answer  your  question  ;  but  with  your  permission,  for 
the  present  at  least,  we  will  continue  your  life's  autopsy — 
now  a  dead  life,  but  to  which  I  propose  to  give  a  glorious 
resurrection.  You  are  twenty-eight ;  you  have  barely  started 
on  the  career  in  which  I  forbid  you  taking  another  step. 
Some  few  days  hence  the  Barristers'  Association  will  meet  and 
will  censure  you,  more  or  less  severely,  for  the  manner  in 
which  you  placed  that  property  in  the  Thuilliers'  possession. 
Have  no  illusions.  Censure — I  mention  only  your  least  peril 
— for  a  lawyer  is  not  like  a  hack-driver  whom  the  disapproval 
of  the  court  does  not  prevent  his  driving  his  coach  ;  if  you 
are  but  mildly  censured,  you  might  as  well  have  your  name 
stricken  off  the  roll." 

"  And  it  is  to  your  benevolence,  doubtless,  that  I  shall  owe 
this  precious  result,"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"I  am  proud  to  believe  so,"  answered  du  Portail ;  "  for  in 
order  to  tow  you  back  into  port  it  was  necessary  to  cut  away 
your  rigging ;  unless  this  had  been  done,  you  would  always 
have  been  trying  to  navigate  under  your  own  sails  among  the 
shoals  of  the  middle-classes." 

Seeing  that  he  had  to  play  against  a  strong  hand,  the  adroit 
Provencal  took  a  more  respectful  manner : 

'*  Permit  me  to  await  further  explanations  before  making 
my  acknowledgments,"  said  he. 

**  Here  you  stand  then,"  said  du  Portail.  "  Twenty-eight, 
without  a  sou,  without  a  profession,  with  antecedents  that  are 
— well — very  mediocre ;  with  associates  like  Dutocq  and  the 
*  brave  !  C^rizet ; '  owing  Mademoiselle  Thuillier  ten  thousand 
francs,  which  your  pretty  conscience  urges  you  to  pay  (even 
if  your  still  prettier  vanity  did  not  insist)  ;  to  Madame  Lam- 
bert twenty-five  thousand  francs  more,  which  you  of  course 
will  be  only  too  glad  to  replace  in  her  hands ;  and  as  an  end- 


416  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

all,  this  marriage,  your  last  hope,  your  plank  of  safety,  has 
just  been  rendered  an  impossibility.  Between  ourselves,  if  I 
make  any  reasonable  proposition,  do  you  not  think  you  had 
better  place  yourself  at  my  disposal  ?  " 

"I  cannot  form  any  resolution  until  your  designs  are  more 
fully  explained,"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"At  my  instigation  you  were  spoken  to  in  reference  to  a 
marriage,"  said  du  Portail ;  "that  marriage  is,  at  least  in  my 
idea,  closely  connected  with  a  past  existence  by  which  a  kind 
of  hereditary  duty  devolves  upon  you.  That  uncle  of  yours 
in  Paris,  to  whom  you  applied  in  1829,  whom  in  your  family 
was  thought  to  be  a  millionaire,  what  was  he?  He  died  sud- 
denly, almost  a  pauper;  he  did  not  leave  enough  money  with 
which  to  bury  him  ;  this  was  his  end." 

"Then  you  knew  him?" 

"  He  was  my  oldest,  my  best  friend,"  replied  du  Portail. 

"But,"  said  la  Peyrade,  eagerly,  "a  sum  of  one  hundred 
louis,  which  in  my  first  days  in  Paris  came  to  me  from  an 
unknown  source " 

"  Was  sent  by  me,"  replied  the  gentleman  ;  "  unfortunately 
at  that  time  I  was  overwhelmed  with  a  rush  of  business,  so  I 
could  not  follow  your  fortunes  closely ;  this  will  explain  why 
I  left  you  on  the  straw  in  a  garret,  to  ripen,  like  medlars,  to 
that  maturity  of  poverty  which  brought  you  into  the  meshes 
of  a  Dutocq  and  a  Cerizet." 

"I  am  not  the  less  grateful,  monsieur;  if  I  had  known  or 
by  any  means  discovered  my  benefactor,  I  should  have 
hastened " 

"  A  truce  to  compliments,"  said  du  Portail.  "Your  uncle 
was  an  agent  of  that  occult  power  which  forms  the  theme  of 
so  many  absurd  fables  and  is  the  object  of  such  silly  preju- 
dices." 

"  I  cannot  grasp  your  meaning,  may  I  beg  you  to  be  more 
explicit." 

"  If  your  uncle  were  living  to-day,"  said  du  Portail,  "and 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  417 

should  say :  'You  seek  fortune  and  influence,  you  wish  to  rise 
above  the  multitude,  you  wish  to  play  your  part  in  the  events 
of  the  epoch,  you  want  to  employ  an  active  mind,  resourceful, 
with  a  trend  to  intrigue ;  in  short,  an  opportunity  to  exert  in 
a  higher,  more  elegant  sphere  that  strength  of  will  and  sub- 
tlety now  utterly  wasted  in  grappling  with  that  most  barren, 
hide-bound  animal  on  earth — a  bourgeois.  Well,  nephew 
mine,  lower  your  head,  creep  in  after  me  through  that  little 
door  which  I  will  open  to  you  ;  it  gives  entrance  to  a  great 
house,  of  not  much  repute,  but  far  above  its  reputation. 
Statesmen,  kings  even,  will  give  you  their  most  inmost 
thoughts;  none  of  the  joys  that  money  and  the  highest  power 
can  bestow  upon  a  man  will  be  lacking  to  you.' " 

"But,  monsieur,  while  not  understanding  you,  I  might 
remark  that  my  uncle  died  so  poor  that,  as  you  inform  me,  he 
was  buried  at  the  expense  of  public  charity." 

"  Yes ;  he  was  a  man  of  rare  talent,  but  he  had  a  weak  side ; 
he  was  eager  for  pleasure,  a  spendthrift,  without  a  thought  for 
the  future ;  he  wanted  to  taste  those  joys  intended  for  the 
common  order  of  men,  but  which  in  great  vocations  are  snares 
and  impediments — the  joys  of  family  life.  He  had  a 
daughter,  whom  he  madly  loved ;  through  her  his  terrible 
busine.ss  prepared  the  awful  catastrope  which  ended  his 
life." 

**  And  this  you  think  is  an  encouragement  for  me  to  tread 
the  path  in  which  he  would  have  bidden  me  follow  him?  " 

"  But  if  I  should  offer  to  guide  you?  "  said  du  Portail. 

"You,  monsieur !  "  said  la  Peyradc,  in  amazement. 

"Yes,  I,  who  was  first  your  uncle's  pupil  and  afterward  his 
protector  and  providence  ;  I,  whose  influence  for  a  half-cen- 
tury has  had  a  daily  increase ;  I,  to  whom  all  governments, 
falling  over  each  other  like  houses  of  cards,  come  to  ask  for 
safety  and  for  the  power  with  which  to  build  their  future  ;  I, 
who  am  the  manager  of  a  great  theatre  of  marionettes,  which 
includes  in  its  cast  Columbines  of  the  style  of  Madame  de 
27 


418  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

Godollo  ;  I,  who  to-morrow,  if  it  became  necessary  to  the 
success  of  one  of  my  burlesques  or  dramas,  might  present 
myself  before  your  eyes  the  wearer  of  the  grand  cordon  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor,  the  Golden  Fleece,  or  the  Garter.  Would 
you  know  why  neither  you  nor  I  will  die  by  poison  ?  Why 
it  is  that  I,  happier  than  my  contemporary  kings,  can  transmit 
my  sceptre  to  whom  I  choose  ?  It  is  because  I,  like  you,  my 
young  friend,  in  spite  of  your  Southern  complexion,  have 
been  cool  and  calculating,  never  tempted  to  waste  my  time 
trifling  on  the  threshold ;  because  my  ardor,  when  circum- 
stances compelled  me  to  use  it,  never  lay  deeper  than  the  sur- 
face. It  is  more  than  likely  that  you  have  heard  of  me ;  well, 
for  your  benefit  I  will  open  a  window  in  my  darkness  ;  look 
closely  upon  me,  observe  me  well ;  I  have  not  a  cloven  hoof 
nor  a  tail  at  the  base  of  my  spine ;  on  the  contrary,  I  seem  to 
be  the  most  inoffensive  of  gentlemen  in  the  St.  Sulpice  quar- 
ter ;  in  that  quarter  where  I  have  enjoyed  for  five-and-twenty 
years,  I  may  say,  the  esteem  of  all ;  I  am  known  as  du  Por- 
tail,  but  to  you,  by  your  permission,  I  shall  call  myself — 

CORENTIN." 

**  Corentin  !  "  exclaimed  la  Peyrade,  with  dismay  and  as- 
tonishment. 

"Yes,  monsieur,  and  as  you  must  see,  by  revealing  my 
secret  to  you  I  lay  my  hand  upon  you  and  you  are  enlisted. 
Corentin,  *  the  greatest  man  in  the  police  of  modern  times,' 
as  the  author  of  an  article  in  the  '  Biographies  of  Living 
Men  '  has  said  of  me — though  I  ought,  to  do  him  justice,  to 
remark  that  he  doesn't  know  the  least  thing  about  my  life." 

"  Monsieur,  I  can  assure  you  that  I  shall  keep  your  secret ; 
but  as  to  the  police ;  to  be  in  your  employ " 

"That  makes  you  uneasy,"  said  Corentin.  "But  why? 
Are  you  afraid  to  encounter  the  terrible  prejudice  that  it 
brands  on  the  brow?" 

"It  is  certainly  a  necessary  institution,"  said  la  Peyrade  ; 
f*I  don't  know  that  it  is  a|wajrs  caliimnii^ted.    If  it  is  an 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  419 

honorable  business,  why  do  those  who  pursue  it  conceal  them- 
selves? " 

"Because  all  that  threatens  society,"  replied  Corentin, 
"  and  which  the  mission  of  the  police  is  to  suppress,  is  plotted 
and  arranged  in  the  shadow.  Do  thieves  and  conspirators 
wear  on  their  hats :  '  I  am  Guillot,  the  shepherd  of  this  flock; ' 
or  ought  we  when  we  go  to  search  for  them  to  be  preceded  by 
a  clanging  bell  to  let  them  know  we  are  coming — like  as  the 
health-officer  does  on  his  rounds  every  morning  to  see  that 
the  janitors  sweep  in  front  of  each  door?" 

"Monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  when  a  sentiment  is  uni- 
versal it  ceases  to  be  a  prejudice,  it  becomes  an  opinion ;  this 
same  opinion  should  be  a  law  to  every  man  who  desires  his 
own  esteem  and  that  of  others." 

"And  when  you  despoiled  that  bankrupt  notary,"  exclaimed 
Corentin,  "  you  stripped  a  corpse  to  enrich  the  Thuilliers  to 
your  own  advantage  ;  this,  I  suppose,  you  will  pretend  was  in 
keeping  with  your  esteem,  but  did  it  hold  that  of  the  barris- 
ters ?  Now,  I  have  done  naught  of  which  I  need  feel  ashamed. 
My  care  of  the  daughter  of  my  old  friend,  Peyrade,  has  not 
been  a  path  strewn  with  roses.  As  I  feel  the  years  advance, 
I  offer  you  my  position,  to  fit  you  to  take  my  place,  a  bride 
with  two  heaping  bags  of  money " 

"What!"  cried  la  Peyrade,  "is  that  girl  my  uncle's 
daughter?  " 

"  Yes ;  the  girl  I  wish  you  to  marry  is  the  daughter  of 
your  Uncle  Peyrade,*  for  he  democratized  his  name,  or,  if  you 
like  it  better,  she  was  the  daughter  of  Father  Canquoelle,  a 
name  taken  from  the  estate  on  which  your  father  starves  with 
eleven  children.  You  turn  your  nose  up  at  the  police,  but, 
as  the  common  folk  have  it,  you  owe  the  best  of  your  nose  to 
the  police.  Your  uncle  was  born  in  the  purple ;  the  King, 
Louis  XVIII.,  delighted  in  his  conversation.  The  question 
now  before  us  is  that  of  succeeding  me — me,  Corentin.  Dq 
*  See  "The  Harlot's  Progress." 


420  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  _ 

you  think  you  can  escape  this  by  any  foolish  considerations  of 
a  bourgeois  vanity  ?  " 

Corentin  arose ;  he  saw  that  la  Peyrade  was  smiling,  showing 
that  at  heart  he  was  not  so  opposed  to  the  proposal  as  his 
words  would  imply. 

"  The  police  !  "  said  Corentin,  pacing  the  room  as  he  spoke, 
"  it  might  be  said  of  the  police,  as  Basile  said  of  calumny  to 
Bartholo :  '  The  police,  monsieur,  you  know  not  what  you 
despise.'  And  in  fact,"  he  went  on,  after  a  pause,  "  who  are 
they  that  despise  it?  Idiots,  who  know  no  better  than  to  in- 
sult the  power  which  protects  them.  Suppress  the  police,  you 
destroy  civilization.  Do  the  police  ask  the  respect  of  these 
people?  It  seeks  but  to  impress  them  with  one  sentiment — 
fear — that  great  lever  which  moves  mankind  ;  an  impure  race, 
whose  horrible  instincts  God,  hell,  the  executioner,  and  the 
gendarme  can  scarcely  restrain." 

Stopping  in  front  of  la  Peyrade,  looking  at  him  with  a 
disdainful  smile : 

"And  you  are  one  of  those  simpletons,"  continued  the 
panegyrist,  "who  see  in  the  police  nothing  but  a  horde  of 
spies  and  informers  ?  And  you  have  never  suspected  the  states- 
men, the  diplomatists,  the  Richelieus  it  has  produced?  But 
Mercury,  monsieur,  Mercury,  the  most  intellectual  of  pagan 
gods,  what  then  was  he  but  the  police  incarnate  ?  It  is  true 
that  he  was  also  tlie  god  of  thieves.  We  are  better  than  he, 
for  so  far  we  have  not  doubled  the  parts." 

"And  yet,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  Vautrin,  the  famous  chief  of 
the  detective  police " 

"Eh!  yes,  in  the  lower  grades,"  replied  Corentin,  re- 
suming his  march,  "there  is  always  some  mud ;  still,  don't 
make  any  mistake,  Vautrin  is  a  genius,  but  his  passions,  like 
those  of  your  uncle,  dragged  him  astray.  But  mounting 
higher  (for  the  gist  of  the  whole  question,  to  wit,  the  finding 
of  the  rung  of  the  ladder  on  which  a  man  must  perch)  is  the 
whole  thing:  The  prefect  of  police,  a  minister,  honored,  re- 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  421 

spected,  flattered — is  he  a  spy?  Well,  I,  monsieur,  I  am  the 
prefect  of  the  occult  police  of  diplomacy — of  the  highest 
statesmanship ;  and  you  hesitate  to  mount  the  throne  which  I, 
Charles  V.,  in  my  old  age  think  of  abdicating?  To  appear 
small  and  yet  do  great  things ;  to  live  in  a  comfortable  den  like 
this,  and  command  the  light ;  to  have  ever  at  your  hand  an  in- 
visible army  always  ready,  always  devoted,  always  submissive  ; 
to  know  the  other  side  of  everything ;  never  to  be  the  dupe  of 
any  wire-puller,  for  you  holdall  the  wires  yourself;  to  peer 
through  every  partition  ;  to  penetrate  all  secrets ;  search  all 
hearts,  all  consciences;  these  are  the  things  you  fear!  And 
yet  you  were  not  afraid  to  wallow  in  the  foul,  dark  bog  of  a 
Thuillier's  household  ;  you,  a  thoroughbred,  allowed  yourself 
to  be  harnessed  to  a  hack,  to  the  ignoble  career  of  an  election 
agent,  and  of  a  paper  run  by  a  rich  bourgeois." 

"  One  must  do  what  first  turns  up,"  replied  la  Peyrade. 

"  It  is  most  remarkable,"  Corentin  went  on,  taking  up 
again  his  former  line  of  thought,  "  the  language  has  done  us 
more  justice  than  opinion,  for  it  made  the  word  *  police ' 
the  synonym  of  civilization  and  the  antipodes  of  savage  life 
when  it  wrote  :  F Etat  policed  I  can  assure  you  that  we  care 
little  for  the  prejudice  that  tries  to  injure  us;  none  can  under- 
stand men  as  we  know  them ;  to  know  them  is  to  scorn  their 
contempt,  as  we  have  contempt  for  their  esteem." 

"  There  is  certainly  much  of  truth  in  what  you  have  advanced 
with  so  much  warmth,"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"Much  truth  !  "  replied  Corentin,  going  back  to  his  chair, 
"say  rather  it  is  all  true,  and  nothing  but  the  truth;  but 
enough  for  to-day,  monsieur.  To  be  my  successor  in  these 
functions  and  to  marry  your  cousin  with  a  dot  that  will  not  be 
less  than  five  hundred  thousand  francs,  that  is  my  offer.  I  do 
not  ask  you  for  an  answer  now.  I  should  have  no  confidence 
in   a   decision    not   seriously  reflected   upon.     To-morrow  I 

*  From  the  Greek  jroXtreia — policy :  hence  policy  of  State. — [Trans- 
lator.] 


422  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

shall  be  here  all  the  morning  ;  I  shall  hope  that  my  conviction 
may  have  convinced  you." 

Dismissing  his  visitor  with  a  curt  little  bow,  he  added  :  "  I 
do  not  say  adieu,  but  au  revoir,  Monsieur  de  la  Peyrade." 

Fatality  seemed  lavish  in  the  offer  of  inducements  for  him 
to  succumb.  Mme.  Lambert,  now  become  an  importunate 
creditor,  had  at  length  been  promised  repayment  the  day  after 
to-morrow,  this  being  the  31st  of  October;  November  2d  was 
the  day  on  which  the  courts  would  reopen.  To  the  summons 
to  give  an  account  of  his  transactions  before  his  peers,  he  re- 
plied that  he  did  not  recognize  the  right  of  the  Board  to  ques- 
tion him  on  his  private  affairs.  This  was  some  kind  of  an 
answer,  certainly.  It  meant  most  inevitably  that  his  name 
would  be  stricken  from  the  rolls,  but  seemed  in  a  measure  to 
have  an  air  of  dignity  and  saved  his  self-love. 

Finally  he  wrote  Thuillier,  in  which  he  informed  him  that 
his  visit  to  du  Portail  had  resulted  in  his  being  obliged  to 
make  another  marriage.  All  this  was  curtly  said,  without  the 
slightest  expression  of  regret  for  the  marriage  he  renounced. 
A  postscript  read  :  "  We  shall  be  obliged  to  meet  and  discuss 
my  position  on  the  newspaper,"  hinting  that  he  might  also 
withdraw  from  that,  too.  He  was  careful  to  make  a  copy  of 
this  letter,  so,  when  later  in  Corentin's  study  he  was  asked  as 
to  his  night's  reflections,  he  simply  presented  for  all  answer 
the  matrimonial  renunciation  he  had  written  out. 

"That  is  good,"  said  Corentin,  "but  your  position  on  the 
paper  you  had  better  retain  for  a  little  while ;  that  fool's  can- 
didacy ruffles  the  government,  we  must  in  some  manner  trip 
up  the  heels  of  this  municipal  councilor;  as  editor-in-chief, 
you  may  turn  a  trick  on  him  ;  I  really  don't  think  you  would 
kick  much  at  the  ordeal." 

*' Certainly  not,"  said  la  Peyrade;  "the  remembrance  of 
the  humiliations  to  which  he  has  so  long  exposed  me  will 
give  a  keen  relish  to  the  lash  I  should  apply  to  that  middle- 
class  brood." 


TUE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  423 

"Be  cautious,"  said  Corentin,  "you  are  but  young,  you 
must  guard  against  vengeful  feelings.  In  our  austere  profes- 
sion we  love  nothing,  hate  nothing.  Now  let  us  speak  of 
your  cousin,  whom  I  should  imagine  you  have  some  curiosity 
to  know." 

La  Peyrade  was  not  obliged  to  pretend  eagerness ;  the  feel- 
ing was  genuine. 

"Lydiede  la  Peyrade,"  said  Corentin,  "is  nearly  thirty, 
but  her  innocence,  joined  to  a  gentle  form  of  mania,  has  kept 
her  apart  from  all  those  passions,  ideas,  and  impressions  which 
rise  up  in  life,  and  has  embalmed  her,  as  one  might  say,  in  a 
kind  of  perpetual  youth.  She  always  carries  in  her  arms  a 
bundle  of  linen  which  she  nurses  and  fondles  as  a  sick  baby. 
She  thinks  that  all  other  men  than  myself  and  Bruno  are 
doctors;  she  consults  them  about  her  child,  and  listens  to 
them  as  to  oracles.  A  crisis  which  occurred  some  little  time 
ago  has  convinced  Horace  Bianchon,  that  prince  of  science, 
that,  if  the  reality  were  substituted  for  this  long  illusion  of 
motherhood,  her  reason  would  be  soon  completely  restored. 
Is  it  not  a  worthy  task  to  bring  back  light  to  a  soul  that  is 
barely  clouded?  Does  it  not  strike  you  that  the  bond  of 
relationship  between  you  makes  it  more  than  ever  your  part 
to  be  the  means  of  effecting  that  cure  ?  Now  I  will  take  you 
to  Lydie's  presence ;  remember  to  play  the  role  of  doctor ; 
for  the  refusal  to  enter  into  her  notion  is  the  only  thing  that 
upsets  her  serenity." 

After  passing  through  several  rooms,  Corentin  was  on  the 
point  of  taking  la  Peyrade  into  the  one  usually  occupied  by 
Lydie,  when  they  were  arrested  by  the  sound  of  two  or  three 
chords  struck  by  the  hand  of  a  master  on  the  piano. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  la  Peyrade. 

"  That  is  Lydie,"  said  Corentin,  with  what  might  be  termed 
a  sort  of  paternal  pride;  "she  is  an  admirable  musician  ;  she 
was  an  excellent  composer,  but  lately  has  not  written  anything, 
though  she  improvises,  and  in  a  manner  that  moves  me  to  the 


424  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

soul — the  soul  of  Corentin,"  added  the  little  old  man,  smiling 
at  the  thought. 

La  Peyrade  was  amazed  as  he  listened ;  his  impressionable 
nature  was  deeply  stirred  by  this  inspiration  and  science. 

To  a  very  quick  scherzo  the  player  added  the  first  notes  of 
an  adagio.  After  a  few  measures  of  a  ritorndla  in  arpeggio,  a 
vibrant  voice  was  heard  which  seemed  to  stir  the  Provencal  to 
the  depths  of  his  being. 

"How  the  music  moves  you!"  said  Corentin.  "You 
most  undoubtedly  were  made  for  each  other." 

"  Oh,  my  God  !  the  same  air  !  the  same  voice  !  " 

"  Have  you,  do  you  mean,  ever  met  Lydie  before?"  asked 
the  great  master  of  the  police. 

"I  don't  know.  I — I  think  not,"  answered  la  Peyrade, 
in  a  stammering  manner;  "and  yet  in  any  case  it  must  have 

been  long  ago But  that  air  !     That  voice  !     It  seems  to 

me " 

"Enter,"  said  Corentin,  suddenly  pushing  open  the  door 
and  pulling  the  young  man  after  him  into  the  room. 

Lydie,  sitting  with  her  back  to  the  door,  and  prevented  by 
the  sound  of  the  piano  from  hearing  them,  did  not  notice 
their  entrance.  La  Peyrade  advanced  a  step.  No  sooner 
had  he  seen  the  face  of  the  crazy  girl  than : 

"  It  is  she  !  "  he  cried,  wildly  clasping  his  hands  over  his 
head. 

"Silence,"  cried  Corentin. 

But  Lydie  had  heard  Theodose's  exclamation,  and  turning 
round  she  fixed  her  attention  on  Corentin. 

"  How  naughty  and  troublesome  you  are  to  come  and 
bother  me,"  said  she.  "  I  don't  like  being  listened  to.  Oh  ! 
you  have  brought  the  doctor ;  that's  right,  I  was  going  to  send 
for  him." 

Then  she  arose  and  ran  for  what  she  called  her  child  in  a 
corner  of  .the  room.  So  she  went  toward  la  Peyrade,  carry- 
ing her  precious  bundle  in  one  hand,  arranging  its  little  cap 


'but  look  at  the  doctor,"  she  cried. 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  425 

with  the  other,  but  as  she  neared  him,  pale,  trembling,  with 
a  glassy  eye,  Th^odose  now  fully  recognized  Mile,  de  la 
Peyrade.  He  retired  in  evident  terror,  not  pausing  until  a 
chair  behind  him  stopped  his  progress ;  losing  his  equilibrium, 
he  fell  into  it. 

So  strong  a  man  as  Corentin,  knowing  as  he  did  every 
incident  in  the  tragedy  by  which  Lydie  had  lost  her  reason, 
had  already  guessed  the  truth. 

"Look,  doctor,"  said  Lydie,  presenting  the  bundle,  "does 
she  not  grow  thinner  and  thinner  ?  " 

La  Peyrade  was  unable  to  reply.  He  buried  his  face  in  his 
handkerchief;  his  breath  came  so  fast  that  he  was  incapable 
of  uttering  a  word. 

Then  in  a  gesture  of  feverish  impatience,  to  which  her  mental 
state  predisposed  her : 

"But  look  at  the  doctor,"  she  cried,  pulling  his  arm  vio- 
lently and  thus  compelling  him  to  show  his  features.  "  My 
God  !  "  said  she,  when  she  saw  the  face  of  the  Provencal. 

And,  dropping  the  bundle  of  linen,  she  started  back ;  her 
eyes  grew  haggard ;  she  passed  her  clammy  hands  through 
her  hair  and  over  her  forehead,  and  seemed  to  be  making  a 
frantic  effort  to  revive  some  dormant  memory  to  her  mind. 
Then  like  a  frightened  filly  who  comes  to  smell  an  object  that 
has  alarmed  it,  she  slowly  neared  the  Provencal,  stooping  to 
look  into  his  face,  which  he  kept  lowered,  and  amid  a  pro- 
found silence  examined  him  for  a  few  seconds.  Suddenly 
a  terrible  cry  escaped  her  throat,  she  sought  refuge  in  the 
arms  of  Corentin,  and,  pressing  against  him  with  all  her 
strength : 

"Save  me!  Save  me!"  she  shrieked.  "It  is  he;  the 
wretch,  the  villain  !     That  is  he  who  did  it  all !  " 

And  with  her  finger  extended  she  seemed  to  nail  the  miser- 
able object  of  her  aversion  to  the  spot. 

After  this  explosion  she  grew  limp,  and  Corentin  laid  her 
on  the  couch,  insensible. 


426  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"Do  not  stay  here,  monsieur,"  said  Corentin.  "Go  into 
my  study;  I  will  join  you  presently." 

Shortly  after,  when  he  had  summoned  help  and  sent  for 
Dr.  Bianchon,  Corentin  rejoined  la  Peyrade. 

"You  see,"  said  he,  with  solemnity,  "that  while  following 
up  this  marriage  with  a  sort  of  passionate  zeal,  I  was  doiiig 
the  will  of  God." 

"  Monsieur,"  said  la  Peyrade,  with  compunction,  "  I  should, 
indeed,  confess  to  you " 

"It  is  useless,"  interrupted  Corentin,  "you  can  tell  me 
nothing  I  do  not  already  know;  on  the  contrary,  there  is 
much  I  can  tell  you.  Old  Peyrade,  your  uncle,  in  trying  to 
earn  a  dot  for  his  idolized  daughter,  entered  into  a  dangerous 
private  enterprise ;  a  thing  I  would  advise  you  to  always 
avoid.  He  encountered  Vautrin  on  his  way.  Your  uncle, 
clever  as  he  was,  could  not  cope  with  that  man,  who  rejected 
no  aid  to  success — neither  murder,  poison,  nor  rape.  To 
paralyze  your  uncle's  efforts,  Lydie  was  enticed  to  a  seem- 
ingly respectable  house  ;  there  she  was  kept  concealed  for  ten 
days.  She  was  told  this  was  done  at  her  father's  wish,  so, 
not  being  alarmed,  she  spent  her  time — well,  you  remember 
how  she  can  sing." 

"Oh!"  ejaculated  la  Peyrade,  covering  his  face  with  his 
hands. 

"Held  as  a  hostage,"  continued  Corentin,  "the  unfortu- 
nate young  girl,  in  case  her  father  did  not  do  as  was  required 
of  him  within  ten  days,  was  reserved  for  a  most  horrible  fate. 
A  narcotic  and  a  man  were  to  play  the  executioner  with  the 
daughter  of  Sejanus " 

"Monsieur,  monsieur;  have  mercy,"  groaned  la  Peyrade. 

"I  told  you  yesterday  that  you  might  have  more  on  your 
conscience  than  that  house  of  the  Thuilliers'  ;  but  you  were 
young  then.  Without  experience,  bringing  with  you  the 
brutality  of  your  country,  you  had  that  frenzied  Southern  blood, 
which  on  occasion  flings  itself  blindly  on.    Then  your  relation- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  427 

ship  was  known  to  those  who  were  plotting  the  ruin  of  this 
new  Clarissa  Harlowe ;  fortunately  Providence  has  permitted, 
in  this  appalling  history,  that  there  is  nothing  irreparable  in 
it.  The  same  poison,  as  it  may  be  employed,  gives  death  or 
health." 

"But,  monsieur,  shall  I  not  always  be  an  object  of  horror 
to  her?" 

"The  doctor,  monsieur,"  said  Katt,  opening  the  door. 

**  How  is  Mademoiselle  Lydie  ?  "  asked  la  Peyrade,  eagerly. 

"Quite  calm,"  answered  Katt;  "and  just  now  when  we 
persuaded  her  to  go  to  bed — though  she  did  not  want  to  go, 
saying  she  was  not  ill — I  took  her  the  bundle  of  rags :  '  What 
do  you  suppose  I  want  with  that,  my  poor  Katt  ?  *  said  she 
with  a  puzzled  air;  *  if  you  want  me  to  play  with  a  doll,  get 
me  one  that  is  made  with  more  care  and  turned  out  in  better 
shape  than  that  one.'  " 

"You  see,"  said  Gorentin  to  the  Provencal,  "you  have  be- 
come the  lance  of  Achiles." 

Then  he  left  the  room  to  receive  Dr.  Bianchon.  Soon 
after  the  door  opened  and  Cerizet  was  ushered  in. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  I  knew  it,"  cried  the  copying  clerk.  "  I  knew 
you  would  see  du  Portail  in  the  end.  And  the  marriage — 
how  is  it  coming  on  ?  " 

"It  is  of  yours  we  expect  news,"  said  la  Peyrade. 

"The  deuce  !  then  you  have  heard  of  it  ?  My  faith  !  yes, 
my  dear.  All  things  must  have  an  end,  after  a  long  voyage 
on  storm-swept  seas.     You  know  the  bride,  do  you?" 

"Yes,  a  young  actress,  Olympe  Cardinal,  a  protege  of  the 
Minards,  who  are  to  give  her  thirty  thousand  francs  for  set- 
ting her  up." 

"And  that,"  said  C6rizet,  "added  to  thirty  thousand 
promised  by  du  Portail  and  the  twenty-five  I  got  out  of  your 
marriage  which  didn't  come  to  pass,  makes  up  a  total  capital 
of  eighty-five  thousand  francs ;  with  that  and  a  pretty  wife  a 
man  must  be  forsaken  of  heaven  if  he  cannot  succeed  in  a  few 


428  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

speculations.  But  du  Portail  sent  me  to  see  if  we  could  not 
arrange  some  scheme  to  prevent  Thuillier's  election.  Can 
you  suggest  any  scheme?  " 

"No;"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "and  I  don't  feel  any  way 
imaginative  either." 

"Well,  here  is  how  the  thing  stands:  the  government  is 
afraid  that  Thuillier  might  get  elected  ;  Minard,  afraid  of  his 
popularity,  mopes  in  a  corner  and  takes  no  steps.  Pompous 
idiots  like  Thuillier  are  embarrassing  when  in  the  Opposi- 
tion ;  they  are  pitchers  without  handles,  you  cannot  tell  how 
to  hold  them." 

"  You  seem  well  informed  as  to  the  government's  inten- 
tions," said  la  Peyrade,  cnrious  to  learn  how  far  he  had  been 
admitted  to  Corentin's  confidence. 

"  Oh,  no,  indeed  ;  I  only  tell  you  what  Monsieur  du  Por- 
tail instructed  me." 

"So!"  said  la  Peyrade,  lowering  his  voice ;  "who  is  this 
du  Portail  ?  You  appear  to  have  been  intimate  with  him  for 
some  time.  A  man  so  penetrative  as  yourself  should  have 
gauged  the  depths  of  this  person  who,  between  you  and  I, 
seems  to  partake  somewhat  of  the  mysterious  order." 

"  My  friend,"  said  Cerizet,  "  is  a  deuced  strong  man.  He's 
a  downy  old  boy  and  has  had,  I  fancy,  some  post  in  the  ad- 
ministration ;  I  think  he  may  have  been  employed  in  some 
department  suppressed  with  the  Empire." 

"Yes? "  said  la  Peyrade. 

"  There,  I  guess,"  said  Cerizet,  "  is  where  he  made  his  roll, 
and,  being  an  ingenious  kind  of  a  fellow,  and  having  a  natural 
daughter  to  marry,  he  has  concocted  this  philanthropic  yarn 
of  her  being  the  daughter  of  an  old  friend  named  Peyrade ; 
your  name  being  the  same  suggested,  I  suppose,  the  idea  of 
fastening  upon  you." 

"That  may  be  so,"  replied  la  Peyrade,  "but  explain  his 
connection  with  the  government  and  his  interest  in  the  elec- 
tions." 


THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES.  429 

"That's  easy.  Du  Portail  is  a  man  who  loves  money,  and 
likes  to  finger  it ;  he  has  done  some  little  service  to  Rastignac, 
that  great  manipulator  of  elections,  a  compatriot  of  his ;  in 
return  he  gives  the  other  hints  in  his  stock-gambling  on  the 
Bourse." 

"Did  he  give  you  all  this  confidential  information?" 
asked  la  Peyrade. 

"  What  do  you  take  me  for  ?  "  replied  Cerizet ;  "  with  this 
worthy  man,  who  has  already  promised  me  thirty  thousand 
francs,  as  you  see,  I  play  the  simpleton,  but  I  make  Bruno 
talk  ;  you  may  ally  yourself  to  this  family  without  fear ;  why, 
my  dear  boy,  this  du  Portail  is  enormously  wealthy ;  he  can 
get  you  made  a  sub-prefect,  from  whence  to  a  prefecture  and 
a  fortune  it  is  but  a  step." 

**  Thanks,"  said  la  Peyrade.  "  But  how  came  you  to  know 
him?" 

"Oh  !  that  is  quite  a  history;  by  my  intervention  he  was 
able  to  recover  a  lot  of  diamonds  that  had  been  stolen." 

At  this  moment  Corentin  appeared  : 

"All  is  going  well,"  said  he  to  la  Peyrade.  "There  are 
signs  of  returning  reason.  Bianchon  would  like  to  talk  to 
you,  so  Monsieur  Cdrizet  will  excuse  us  until  this  evening." 

On  the  day  following  Thuillier  was  discussing  with  Bri- 
gittte  Theodose's  letter  renouncing  Celeste's  hand,  particu- 
larly dwelling  on  the  postscript  which  intimated  that  la  Peyrade 
might  not  continue  as  editor  of  the  "  Echo  de  la  Bievre."  At 
this  moment  Henri,  his  servant,  came  in  to  ask  if  he  would 
receive  M.  Cerizet, 

Thuillier's  first  impulse  was  to  deny  himself.  Then,  think- 
ing better  of  it,  he  reflected  that  Cerizet  might  prove  a  re- 
source if  he  were  left  in  the  lurch.  Cerizet  presented  him- 
self without  the  least  embarrassment. 

"  Well,  my  dear  sir,"  said  he  to  Thuillier,  "  you  are  begin- 
ning, I  suppose,  to  get  posted  as  to  the  Sieur  la  Peyrade  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  asked  the  old  beau. 


430  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

**  Well,  I  should  think  a  man  who  for  a  long  time  has  been 
intriguing  to  marry  your  goddaughter  abruptly  breaks  off  the 
marriage,  as  he  will  sometime  also  do  about  the  contract  he 
made  you  sign  about  his  editorship,  cannot  be  the  object  of 
the  blind  confidence  you  formerly  reposed  in  him." 

"So,"  said  Thuillier,  quickly,  "  you  know  something  then 
of  his  intentions  to  leave  the  paper?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  banker  of  the  poor,  "  we  are  not  now  on 
such  terms  as  that  I  should  be  given  his  confidence.  I  draw 
my  inference  from  what  I  know  of  his  character." 

"  You  have  had  some  former  dealings  with  him  then  ?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Cerizet.  "That  business  of  your 
house ;  I  started  the  hare  in  that.  He  was  to  put  me  in  com- 
munication with  you  and  make  me  the  first  lessee  ;  but  the 
unfortunate  event  of  the  bidding-in  gave  him  the  opportunity 
to  swindle  me  and  to  keep  all  the  profits  himself." 

"  Profits  !  "  exclaimed  Thuillier.  "  I  can't  see  that  he  got 
anything  out  of  that  beyond  the  marriage  that  he  refused." 

"What!"  said  the  usurer,  "ten  thousand  francs  for  the 
Cross  which  you  never  received  ;  the  twenty-five  thousand  due 
Madame  Lambert,  which  you  went  surety  for,  which,  like  a 
good  boy,  you  are  apt  to  have  to  pay." 

"What's  this  I  hear  !  "  cried  Brigitte,  bounding  out  of  her 
chair;  "twenty-five  thousand  francs  you  stand  security  for?" 

"Yes,  mademoiselle,"  replied  Cerizet,  "behind  the  sum 
that  woman  was  said  to  have  lent  him  there  was  some  mys- 
tery, but  la  Peyrade  was  smart  enough  not  only  to  whitewash 
himself  before  your  brother,  but  also  to  get  him  to 
secure ' ' 

"But,"  interrupted  Thuillier,  "if  you  have  not  seen  him^ 
how  did  you  learn  that  I  had  become  his  surety?" 

"  From  the  servant  herself,  monsieur,  who  tells  the  whole 
story  now  she  is  sure  of  being  paid." 

"  Monsieur  Cerizet,"  said  Thuillier,  holding  himself  on  his 
reserve,  f'  {is  I  once  told  la  Peyrade,  no  man  is  indispensable; 


THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES.  431 

now,  if  the  editorship  of  my  paper  becomes  vacant,  I  can 
readily  find  persons  eager  to  proffer  their  services  to  me." 

"Is  it  for  my  benefit  you  speak  like  that?"  asked  Cerizet. 
"You  make  a  bad  mistake  if  it  is,  for  I  have  no  desire  to  offer 
mine.  For  a  long  time  I  have  been  disgusted  with  journalism. 
I  let  la  Peyrade  jolly  me  into  it,  why  I  don't  know,  but  I 
have  now  abjured  it  for  ever.  I  came  to  see  you  about  another 
thing." 

"Ah  !  "  said  Thuillier. 

"Yes,"  replied  Cerizet;  "remembering  the  handsome 
manner  in  which  you  acted  in  the  business  of  this  house,  in 
which  you  do  me  the  honor  of  receiving  me,  it  occurred  to 
me  that  I  could  not  do  better  than  to  call  your  attention  to  a 
similar  case  I  have  in  hand.  It  is  a  purely  business  transac- 
tion and  I  expect  to  make  my  profit  on  it.  Now,  as  the  sub- 
letting of  this  house  must  be  a  terrible  humbug  to  made- 
moiselle, for  I  notice  that  all  the  stores  still  remain  unlet,  it 
would  suit  me  to  become  the  principal  tenant — I  think  that 
might  be  calculated  as  part  of  the  profits." 

"But  this  affair?  "  said  Brigitte,  "  that  is  the  first  thing  to 
know." 

"It  is  exactly,"  said  Cerizet,  "  the  contrary  to  that  trans- 
action you  had  with  la  Peyrade.  You  got  this  house  for  next 
to  nothing,  but  were  worried  by  a  higher  bidder.  Now,  this 
is  a  farm,  ih  Beauce,  which  has  just  been  sold  for  a  crumb  of 
bread,  as  they  say;  it  has  been  placed  in  my  hands  to  resell 
at  a  small  advance ;  you  could  get  it  at  a  fabulously  low 
price." 

Then  Cerizet  set  forth  the  details  which  had  more  fascina- 
tion for  Brigitte  than  it  would  be  like  to  have  for  the  reader. 
The  statement  was  precise  and  interested  Thuillier  in  spite  of 
himself;  it  was  a  good  speculation. 

"Only,"  said  Brigitte,  "  we  must  see  the  farm." 

"  Nothing  is  easier,"  said  Cerizet.  "I  want  to  see  it  my- 
self, and  intended  making  an  ejccursion  there  to-day.    If  you 


432  THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

say  so,  I'll  take  you  down,  calling  at  your  door  for  you  this 
afternoon  with  a  chaise  ;  we  shall  be  there  early  to-morrow 
morning,  examine  the  farm,  have  breakfast,  and  return  in 
time  for  dinner." 

**A  post-chaise,"  said  Brigitte,  "is  very  lordly.  The  dili- 
gence seems  to  me " 

"They  are  too  uncertain,"  said  Cerizet.  "But  you  need 
not  think  of  the  expense,  for  I  shall  have  to  go,  and  otherwise 
it  would  be  alone  ;  I  am  only  too  happy  to  offer  you  two  seats 
in  my  carriage." 

To  the  avaricous  little  gains  often  determine  great  events ; 
after  a  little  resistance,  pro  forma,  Brigitte  accepted,  and  that 
day  the  three  set  out  on  the  road  to  Chartres,  Cerizet  advising 
Thuillier  not  to  send  word  to  la  Peyrade  lest  he  might  play 
"some  dirty  trick"  on  him. 

The  next  evening  by  five  o'clock  the  trio  had  returned ; 
and  the  brother  and  sister,  who  kept  their  opinions  to  them- 
selves in  C^rizet's  presence,  were  both  of  one  mind,  that  the 
purchase  was  a  good  thing,  and  this  idea  of  becoming  the 
mistress  of  rural  property  seemed  to  Brigitte  the  final  conse- 
cration of  opulence. 

"  Minard,"  said  she,  "has  nothing  but  his  town-house  and 
invested  capital,  whereas  we  shall  not  only  have  those  but  a 
country  place  beside.  One  can't  be  really  rich  without 
that," 

Thuillier  was  not  sufficiently  charmed  by  this  dream  to  for- 
get the  paper  and  his  candidacy.  He  no  sooner  got  back 
than  he  asked  for  the  *'  Echo"  issued  that  morning. 

"It  has  not  yet  been  delivered,"  replied  the  servant. 

"That's  a  pretty  delivery,"  said  Thuillier  peevishly,  "when 
even  the  owner  cannot  get  served." 

Although  it  was  late  and  he  was  tired,  he  ordered  a  hack 
and  drove  to  the  office  of  the  "  Echo."  There  a  new  disap- 
pointment awaited  him  ;  the  new  issue  was  made  up  and  all 
the  employes  had  left,  even  la  Peyrade.     Coffinet  was  not  at 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  433 

his  post  as  office  boy,  he  had  "gone  of  a  arrand,"  said  his 
wife,  and  had  taken  the  key  of  the  closet  in  which  the  remain- 
ing copies  of  the  paper  were  locked  up.  It  was  impossible  to 
get  a  copy  of  the  journal  which  the  unhappy  proprietor  had 
come  so  far  to  procure. 

To  paint  Thuillier's  indignation  is  impossible.  He  marched 
about  the  room,  talking  aloud  to  himself,  as  people  often  do 
under  great  excitement. 

"I'll  turn  them  all  out!"  he  cried.  We  are  compelled 
to  omit  his  further  objurgations. 

While  he  fulminated  his  anathema  there  was  a  knock  at  the 
door. 

"  Come  in,"  thundered  Thuillier,  in  a  voice  of  wrath  and 
frantic  impatience. 

Minard  appeared,  who  precipitated  himself  into  his  arms. 

"  My  good,  ray  excellent  friend,"  began  the  Mayor  of  the 
Eleventh,  his  embrace  ending  in  an  earnest  handshaking. 

"  Why?  what  is  it?  "  said  Thuillier,  understanding  nothing 
of  this  vehement  demonstration. 

"Ah!  my  dear  friend,"  continued  Minard,  "such  an  ad- 
mirable proceeding,  one  may  say  really  chivalrous,  most  dis- 
interested !  The  effect  throughout  the  arrondissement  is  enor- 
mous." 

"But  what  ?  again  I  ask,"  exclaimed  Thuillier,  impatiently. 

"The  article,  the  new  departure,"  said  Minard,  "all  so 
noble,  so  elevated." 

"But  what  article?  What  departure?"  said  the  owner  of 
the  "Echo,"  beside  himself  with  irritation. 

"The  article  of  this  morning,"  said  Minard. 

"  The  article  of  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Come,  you  didn't  write  it  while  you  slept,  or  are  you 
like  Monsieur  Jourdain  writing  prose,  heroical  without  know- 
ing it?" 

"  I !  I  have,  written  no  article,"  cried  Thuillier.  "  I  have 
been  absent  from  Paris  since  yesterday.  I  don't  even  know 
28 


434  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

what  is  in  the  paper  this  morning,  and  there  is  no  office  boy 
here  to  give  me  a  copy." 

"I  have  one,"  said  Minard,  pulling  the  much-desired 
number  from  his  pocket.  "  If  the  editorial  is  not  yours,  you 
must  have  inspired  it,  and,  in  any  case,  the  deed  is  done." 

Thuillier  had  snatched  the  sheet  that  Minard  held  out  to 
him,  and  devoured,  rather  than  read,  the  following ; 

For  a  long  time  the  owner  of  this  regenerated  journal  submitted,  with- 
out complaint  or  reply,  to  the  cowardly  insinuations  with  which  a  venal 
press  insults  all  citizens  who,  strong  in  their  convictions,  refuse  to  pass 
under  the  Caudine  Forks  of  power.  So  during  this  long  time,  a  man, 
who  has  given  proof  of  his  devotion  and  abnegation  in  the  important 
functions  of  an  aedile  of  Paris,  has  endured  the  imputation  of  being  nothing 
but  an  ambitious  intriguer.  M.  Jeiome  Thuillier,  strong  in  his  dignity, 
has  suffered  these  coarse  attacks  to  pass  with  his  scorn,  but,  encouraged  by 
this  contemptuous  silence,  the  stipendiaries  of  the  press  have  dared  to  state 
that  this  journal,  an  outcome  of  intense  conviction  and  disinterested  patriot- 
ism, was  but  the  stepping-stone  of  a  man,  the  speculation  of  a  seeker  after 
an  election.  M.  Jerome  Thuillier,  in  his  high  dignity,  has  held  himself 
immovable  before  these  shameless  imputations  because  truth  and  justice 
are  patient,  and  he  wished  to  crush  the  reptile  with  a  blow.  The  day  of 
execution  has  arrived. 

"A  devil  of  a  la  Peyrade  !  "  said  Thuillier,  stopping  short 
at  that  phrase.      "  How  he  hits  it  off." 
''It  is  magnificent,"  said  Minard. 
Reading  aloud,  Thuillier  went  on  : 

All  the  world,  enemies  and  friends,  can  testify  that  M.  Jei6me  Thuillier 
has  done  nothing  to  seek  a  candidacy  which  was  spontaneously  offered 
him, 

**  That's  evident,"  said  Thuillier,  interrupting  himself. 
Then  he  continued : 

But  seeing  his  sentiments  have  been  so  shamefully  misreoresented,  his 
intentions  so  foully  travestied,  M.  Thuillier  owes  it  to  himself,  and,  above 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  435 

all,  to  the  great  national  party  in  which  he  is  but  the  humblest  soldier,  to 
give  an  example  which  shall  confound  the  vile  sycophants  of  power. 

"Truly,  la  Peyrade  gives  me  full  credit,"  said  Thuillier, 
pausing  again  in  his  reading.  "I  see  now  why  he  didn't 
send  me  the  paper ;  he  wanted  to  enjoy  my  surprise  :  '  Con- 
found the  vile  sycophants  of  power,'  "  repeated  he,  after  roll- 
ing it  ia  his  mind : 

M.  Thuillier  was  so  far  from  founding  a  paper  in  opposition  to  the 
dynasty  to  support  and  promote  his  election,  that  at  the  very  time  when 
his  election  seems  to  be  assured,  and  most  disheartening  for  his  rivals, 
he  here  publicly  declares,  and  in  the  most  formal,  absolute,  and  irrevocable 
terms,  that  he  renounces  his  candidacy. 

"What  ?  How  ?  "  cried  Thuillier,  thinking  he  had  misread 
or  misunderstood. 

"  Go  on,"  said  the  Mayor  of  the  Eleventh. 

And  as  Thuillier,  with  a  bewildered  manner,  seemed  indis- 
posed to  continue  his  reading,  Minard  took  the  paper  in  his 
hands  and  read,  in  his  stead : 

He  withdraws  from  the  contest  and  requests  the  electors  to  transfer  to 
M.  Minard,  mayor  of  the  eleventh  arrondissement,  and  his  friend  and  col- 
league in  his  municipal  functions,  all  the  votes  they  seemed  disposed  to 
honor  him  with. 

"But  this  is  infamous!"  cried  Thuillier,  recovering  his 
speech,  "you  have  bought  that  Jesuit,  la  Peyrade." 

"So,"  said  Minard,  stupefied  by  Thuillier' s  attitude,  "the 
lirticle  was  not  arranged  between  you?" 

"The  wretch  has  profited  by  my  absence  to  slip  it  in  the 
paper ;  this  explains  why  he  prevented  a  copy  reaching  me. ' ' 

"My  dear  fellow,"  said  Minard,  "what  you  are  saying 
will  seem  incredible  to  the  public." 

"  But  I  tell  you  it  is  treason,  a  beastly  trick.  Renounce 
my  candidature — why  should  I  renounce  it? " 


436  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"You  will  fully  understand,  my  friend,"  said  Minard, 
"that  if  this  is  an  abuse  of  confidence,  I  am  made  desolate; 
but  I  have  issued  my  electoral  circular,  and,  by  my  faith  ! 
luck  to  the  lucky, ' ' 

"Leave  me,"  said  Thuillier,  pointing  to  the  door,  "you 
have  paid  for  this  hoax." 

"Monsieur  Thuillier,"  said  Minard,  in  a  threatening  tone, 
"  I  would  advise  you  not  to  repeat  those  words  unless  you 
intend  giving  me  your  reason." 

Happily  for  the  "civic  courage"  of  Thuillier  he  was  re- 
relieved  from  a  reply  by  Coffinet,  who  opened  the  door  of  the 
editorial  sanctum,  announcing : 

"The  gentlemen  electors  of  the  twelfth  arrondissement." 

This  consisted  of  a  deputation  of  six,  an  apothecary  being 
the  president,  who,  addressing  Thuillier,  said  they  had  read 
the  article  of  that  morning  and  wished  to  clearly  understand 
what  it  meant.  He  was  told  that  a  candidate  does  not  belong 
to  himself,  but  to  the  electors  who  have  supported  him. 
"But,"  he  finished  up,  casting  his  eye  on  Minard,  "the 
presence  in  these  precincts  of  the  candidate  for  whom  you 
have  gone  out  of  your  way  to  recommend  to  us,  indicates  a  \ 
connivance  between  you," 

"No,  gentlemen,  no,"  said  Thuillier,  "I  have  not  re- 
nounced my  candidacy ;  that  editorial  was  written  unknown  i 
to  me  and  without  my  consent.  To-morrow  the  denial  will 
appear  in  the  same  paper  ;  you  will  learn,  too,  that  the  infa- 
mous wretch  who  betrayed  me  has  been  dismissed  the  edi- 
torship." 

"Then,"  said  the  orator,  "you  are  still  a  candidate  and 
will  support  the  Opposition  ?  " 

"Yes,  gentlemen,  to  the  death,"  said  Thuillier. 

"Good  !     Very  good  !  "  cried  the  deputation. 

Then,  after  a  cordial  handshake  all  round,  Thuillier  con- 
ducted them  to  the  outer  door. 

He  had  barely  reentered  the  room  when : 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  437 

"Gentlemen  the  electors  of  the  eleventh  arrondissement," 
said  Cofifinet,  opening  the  door. 

This  time  the  arrondissement  consisted  of  seven  persons. 
A  dry-goods  man  was  the  president,  his  little  speech  ran  : 

"  Monsieur,  it  is  with  a  sincere  admiration  that  we  were 
apprised  this  morning  that  the  great  art  of  public  virtue,  which 
has  greatly  touched  us  all,  is  not  lost.  You  have  proved,  by 
thus  retiring,  a  disinterestedness  far  from  the  ordinary,  and 
the  esteem  of  your  fellow-citizens " 

"Permit  me,"  said  Thuillier,  interrupting  him,  "I  cannot 
allow  you  to  continue ;  the  article  upon  which  you  congratu- 
late me  was  inserted  by  mistake." 

"What !  "  said  the  dry-goods  man,  "  do  you  mean  to  say 
that  you  don't  retire  from  the  contest  ?  It  will  be  a  great 
pity  if  you  lose  this  chance  to  place  yourself  in  the  eyes  of 
your  fellow-citizens  by  the  side  of  Washington  and  other 
famous  men  of  antiquity." 

"I  will  to-morrow  make  all  clear  to  you,"  said  Thuillier. 
"  I  trust  when  you  know  the  whole  truth  I  shall  not  suffer  in 
your  esteem." 

"This  seems  a  funny  sort  of  a  game,"  shouted  an  elector. 

"  Yes,"  growled  another,  "  it  seems  like  they  were  making 
fools  of  us." 

Whereupon  the  deputation  retired. 

It  is  hardly  probable  that  Thuillier  would  have  gone  further 
with  them  than  the  office  door,  but  if  he  had  so  intended  it 
was  prevented  by  the  entrance  of  la  Peyrade. 

"I  have  just  come  from  your  house,  my  dear  fellow,"  said 
the  Provencal,  "they  told  me  I  should  find  you  here." 

"And  you  came,  doubtless,  to  explain  to  me  the  strange 
editorial  you  allowed  yourself  to  insert  in  my  name?" 

"Exactly,"  said  la  Peyrade.     "The  man  of  whom  you- 
know,  and  whose  far-reaching  influence  you  have  already  felt, 
confided  in  me  yesterday,  to  the  interest  both  of  yourself  and 
the  government,  and  I  saw  it  was  inevitable  that  you  would 


438  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

be  defeated.  I  therefore  arranged  a  dignified  and  honorable 
retreat  for  you." 

"Very  good,  monsieur,"  said  Thuillier,  "but  you  will 
understand  that  from  the  present  you  are  no  longer  the  editor 
of  this  paper." 

"That  is  what  I  came  to  tell  you." 

"And  doubtless  also  to  settle  up  the  little  account  we  have 
together." 

"Gentlemen,"  said  Minard,  "I  see  you  have  business  to 
attend,  I  make  you  my  bow." 

Minard  gone  : 

"Here  are  ten  thousand  francs,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "which 
I  beg  you  to  hand  to  Mademoiselle  Brigitte  ;  here,  also,  is  the 
bond  by  which  you  secured  to  Madame  Lambert  the  payment 
of  twenty-five  thousand  francs,  to  which  is  attached  her  re- 
ceipt in  full." 

"Quite  right,  monsieur,"  said  Thuillier. 

La  Peyrade  bowed  and  went  out. 

"Serpent  !  "  said  Thuillier,  watching  him  out. 

"Cerizet  struck  the  right  word,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "he  is  a 
pompous  idiot." 

The  blow  struck  at  Thuillier's  candidacy  was  mortal,  but 
Minard  did  not  profit  thereby.  While  they  disputed  for  the 
suffrages  of  the  electors,  a  "castle-man,"  an  aide-de-camp  of 
the  King,  arrived  on  the  scene,  his  hands  full  of  tobacco 
licenses  and  other  the  like  electioneering  small  change,  and, 
like  the  third  thief,  he  stole  in  between  the  two  candidates  who 
were  busy  eating  each  other.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
Brigitte  did  not  get  her  farm  at  Beauce;  this  was  only  a 
mirage,  by  the  help  of  which  Thuillier  was  enticed  from 
Paris  to  enable  la  Peyrade  to  deliver  his  knock-out  blow.  A 
service  rendered  the  government,  and  which  was  at  the  same 
time  a  full  revenge  for  the  humiliations  the  Provengal  had 
suffered. 

Thuillier  had  some  general  suspicions  as  to  Cerizet's  com- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  439 

pHcity,  but  that  gentleman  justified  himself,  and,  by  engineer- 
ing the  sale  of  the  **  Echo  de  la  Bievre,"  which  had  become  a 
nightmare  to  its  unfortunate  proprietor,  he  made  himself  as 
white  as  snow.  Bought  out  by  Corentin,  the  poor  sheet  of 
the  Opposition  became  a  "canard"  sold  on  Sundays  in  the 
taverns  after  being  concocted  in  the  den  of  the  police. 

About  a  month  after  the  scene  in  which  la  Peyrade  had 
been  shown  that  through  a  crime  in  the  past  his  future  was 
irrevocably  settled,  he  had  married  his  victim,  who  now  had 
long  intervals  of  lucidity,  though  the  full  return  of  her  reason 
could  not  be  counted  upon  until  the  time  and  conditions  pre- 
viously indicated  by  the  physicians  had  become  fulfilled.  One 
morning  Corentin  was  closeted  with  his  successor.  Taking  part 
in  his  labors,  and  serving  his  apprenticeship  for  the  delicate 
and  arduous  duties  of  his  office,  Th^odose  did  not  bring  that 
acumen  and  spirit  into  the  work  that  Corentin  desired.  He 
saw  that  his  pupil  had  cherished  a  feeling  of  degradation ; 
time  would  heal  the  wound,  but  the  callus  was  as  yet  un- 
formed. 

Opening  a  number  of  sealed  envelopes  containing  his  agents' 
reports,  most  of  which  were  contemptuously  pitched  into  the 
waste-paper  basket,  to  be  afterward  burnt,  the  great  man  gave 
particular  attention  to  one  he  came  across ;  as  he  read  it  he 
slightly  smiled  once  or  twice,  and  when  he  had  finished : 

"  Here,"  said  he  to  la  Peyrade,  passing  the  manuscript 
over,  "  this  will  interest  you ;  it  shows  that  our  profession, 
which  at  present  seems  to  you  unpleasantly  tragic,  does  at 
times  dabble  in  comedy,  in  addition.  Read  it  aloud,  it  will 
amuse  us." 

Before  la  Peyrade  had  commenced  to  read : 

"I  ought  to  let  you  know,"  added  Corentin,  "that  this 
report  is  from  a  man  named  Henri,  whom  Madame  Komom 
placed  in  service  with  the  Thuilliers." 

"So,"  said  la  Peyrade,  "  you  have  servants  to  your  hand; 
is  that  one  of  your  methods?  " 


440  THE   MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Sometimes,"  replied  Corentin,  "to  know  all,  all  means 
must  be  utilized ;  but,  on  this  subject,  many  lies  are  spoken 
about  us.  It  is  not  true  that  the  police  make  a  regular  system 
of  this.  But  I  wanted  an  eye  and  ear  in  the  Thuillier  house- 
hold, so  I  let  the  Godollo  loose  upon  it ;  she  in  turn  installed 
one  of  our  men  there,  quite  an  intelligent  fellow,  as  you  will 
learn.  But  suppose  another  servant  came  and  said  he  was 
willing  to  sell  me  the  secrets  of  his  master,  I  should  have  him 
arrested  and  let  a  warning  be  sent  to  the  family  to  distrust  the 
other  servants." 

Monsieur  the  Chief  of  the  Secret  Police,  I  did  not  stay  long  with  the 
little  baron ;  he  is  a  man  wholly  absorbed  in  frivolous  pleasures ;  there 
was  nothing  to  gather  worthy  of  a  report.  I  have  another  situation 
though  where  I  have  seen  a  number  of  things  which  have  a  bearing  on 
the  mission  intrusted  to  me  by  Mme,  de  Godollo ;  I  take  the  liberty  of 
acquainting  you  with  them.  The  household  in  which  I  am  now  in  ser- 
vice is  that  of  an  old  professor,  M.  Picot,  who  lives  on  a  first  flooi,  Place 
de  la  Madeleine,  in  the  suite  and  house  lately  occupied  by  my  former  mas- 
ters, the  Thuilliers. 

"What!"  cried  la  Peyrade,  interrupting  himself,  "Old 
Picot,  that  ruined  old  lunatic,  occupying  such  splendid  apart- 
ments?" 

"  Go  on,  go  on  !  "  cried  Corentin  ;  "  life  is  full  of  stranger 
things  than  that ;  you  will  find  the  explanation  lower ;  our 
correspondents — it's  one  of  their  defects — are  too  fond  of 
drawing  facts  in  detail ;  they  are  always  over  careful  in  dot- 
ting their  /'s." 

The  man  Henri  went  on : 

The  Thuilliers,  some  time  ago,  left  here  to  return  to  their  Latin  quarter. 
Mile.  Brigitte  never  really  liked  our  sphere ;  her  total  lack  of  education 
made  her  uncomfortable.  Because  I  spoke  correctly  she  dubbed  me  "  the 
orator,"  and  her  porter  she  disliked,  because,  being  sexton  at  the  Made- 
leine church,  he  has  some  manners ;  she  even  complained  of  the  market- 
people  in  the  market  at  the  rear  of  the  church,  and  said  they  gave  them- 


THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES.  441 

selves  "  capable  "  airs,  only  for  that  they  are  not  so  coarse-tongued  as 
those  of  the  Halle,  and  laughed  when  she  tried  to  beat  down  their  prices. 
She  has  let  her  house  now  to  an  ugly  man  with  only  half  a  nose,  one 
C^rizet,  who  pays  a  rent  of  fifty-five  thousand  francs.  This  leaseholder 
seems  to  know  his  road  about;  he  has  just  married  an  actress  at  a  minor 
theatre  and  was  about  to  occupy  this  floor,  using  it  also  as  offices  for  a 
company  issuing  policies  for  marriage-portions,  when  M.  Picot,  arriving 
from  England  with  his  wife,  a  very  wealthy  Englishwoman,  saw  the  suite 
of  rooms  and  offered  so  large  a  rental  that  M.  C6rizet  felt  constrained  to 
accept  it.  It  was  then  that  being  introduced  by  M.  Pascal,  the  janitor,  I 
took  service  with  M.  Picot. 

**M.  Picot,  married  to  a  very  rich  Englishwoman,"  said  la 

Peyrade,  again  interrupting  himself;  *' it  is  inconceivable  !  " 

*'  Read  on,"  said  Corentin ;  "  you  will  comprehend  later." 

The  fortune  of  my  new  master  is  quite  a  history,  and  Mme.  de  Godollo 
was  mixed  up  with  the  marriage  of  a  pupil  of  his — a  M.  F61ix  Phellion, 
the  inventor  of  a  star — who  in  despair  at  not  being  able  to  marry  that 
demoiselle  whom  they  wanted  to  give  to  M.  la  Peyrade,  of  whom  Mme. 
de  Godollo  made  such  an  ass 

"Scoundrel!"  said  the  Provencal,  in  a  parenthesis;  "is 
that  how  he  speaks  of  me  ?  He  doesn't  know  yet  with  whom 
he  has  to  deal." 

Corentin  laughed  heartily  and  told  his  pupil  to  go  ahead. 

and  who  in  despair  at  not  being  allowed  to  marry  her  had  gone  off  to 
England,  whence  he  was  to  set  off  on  a  journey  round  the  world  ;  just  a 
lover's  notion.  Hearing  of  this  departure,  M.  Picot,  his  old  professor, 
went  after  him  to  prevent  this  nonsense,  which  was  not  a  difficult  matter. 
The  English  are  naturally  very  jealous  about  discoveries,  and  when  they 
saw  M.  Phellion  about  to  embark  with  their  own  professors  they  asked 
him  if  he  had  an  order  from  the  Admiralty ;  not  being  provided  with  this, 
they  laughed  in  his  face  and  would  not  permit  him  on  board  at  all ;  they 
feared  he  would  prove  more  learned  than  they. 

"  He  seems  to  think  a  great  deal  of  the  entente  cordiale, 
your  M.  Henri,"  said  la  Peyrade,  jokingly. 


442  THE  MIDDLE   CLASSES. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Corentin,  "  you  will  be  struck  in  the  re- 
ports of  our  agents  with  this  general  and  continued  spirit  of 
calumniation.  But  what  can  be  done  !  we  cannot  expect 
angels  to  take  up  the  trade  of  spies." 

Left  upon  the  shore,  Telemachus  and  Mentor  thought  best  to  return  to 
France ;  they  were  about  doing  so  when  M.  Picot  received  a  letter  such 
as  none  but  an  Englishwoman  could  have  written.  It  said  that  the  writer 
had  read  his  theory  of  "  Perpetual  Motion,"  and  had  also  heard  of  the 
wonderful  discovery  of  a  star  ;  she  regartled  him  as  a  genius  next  only  to 
Newton;  if  the  hand  of  her  who  addressed  him,  joined  to  eighty  thousand 
pounds,  or  two  million  francs,  suited  his  convenience,  sh«  was  at  his  dis- 
posal. M.  Picot  liked  the  offer;  he  met  the  English  lady,  a  woman  of 
forty  at  the  least,  with  a  red  nose,  long  teeth,  and  spectacles.  He  had  in- 
tended offering  her  his  pupil,  but  he  saw  that  this  was  out  of  the  question, 
so  he  told  her  that  he  was  old,  half-blind,  had  not  discovered  the  star,  and 
did  not  possess  a  sou.  She  replied  that  Milton  was  not  a  young  man  and 
was  stone-blind ;  as  for  the  star,  she  did  not  care  much  about  that ;  that 
the  author  of  "  Perpetual  Motion  "  was,  and  had  been  for  ten  years  past, 
the  man  of  her  dreams  ;  and  she  again  offered  herself  with  a  do^  of  eighty 
thousand  pounds  sterling  ;  beside,  he  only  had  a  cataract  on  his  eyes;  she 
was  the  daughter  of  a  noted  oculist  and  knew  this.  M.  Picot  made 
answer  that  if  his  sight  were  restored  and  she  would  consent  to  live  in 
Paris,  for  he  hated  England,  he  would  permit  himself  to  be  married.  The 
operation  was  successfully  performed,  and,  at  the  end  of  three  weeks,  the 
newly  wedded  couple  arrived  in  the  capital.  All  these  details  I  learned 
from  madame's  maid  with  whom  I  am  on  intimate  terms. 

"You  see,  conceited  puppy  !  "  said  Corentin  laughing. 

But  the  remainder  of  what  I  have  to  inform  M.  the  Chief  are  facts  of 
which  I  speak  de  visu.  When  the  Picots  were  comfortably  installed  they 
gave  invitations  to  a  dinner  to  all  the  guests,  and  a  few  others,  who  had 
attended  a  dinner  at  which  M.  Picot  had  had  a  funny  encounter  with 
Mile.  Thuillier.  The  whole  company  were  on  hand  at  the  time  named, 
but  M.  Picot  did  not  appear.  The  guests  were  received  by  Madame,  who 
does  not  speak  French  and  could  only  say :  "  My  husband  will  soon  be 
here ; "  at  last  M.  Picot  arrived,  and  they  were  stupefied  on  seeing,  instead 
of  a  shabby,  blind  old  man,  a  handsome,  hale,  young  old  man,  carryiag 
his  years  jauntily,  like  M.  Ferville,  of  the  Gymnase,  and  saying: 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  443 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  ladies,  for  not  being  here  when  you  arrived,  but  I 
was  at  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  awaiting  the  result  of  an  election — that 
of  Monsieur  Felix  Phellion,  who  was  unanimously  elected  less  three 
votes." 

The  news  seemed  to  be  well  received  by  the  company. 
•  "  I  must  also  ask  your  pardon,  ladies,  for  ray  rather  peculiar  behavior 
in  this  very  place,  a  few  weeks  ago.  My  excuses  are  my  late  infirmity, 
the  annoyances  of  a  law-suit,  and  an  old  housekeeper  who  robbed  and 
plagued  me  in  a  thousand  ways  and  of  whom  I  have  the  happiness  of 
being  now  delivered.  To-day  you  see  me  rejuvenated,  married  to  an 
amiable  spouse,  and  with  only  one  cloud  to  obscure  my  happiness — that 
of  my  young  friend  who  has  been  crowned  by  the  Academy ;  all  here  are 
more  or  less  guilty  toward  him ;  I,  for  my  ingratitude,  when  he  turned 
over  to  me  the  benefits  of  his  discovery  and  the  reward  of  his  immortal 
labors;  that  young  lady  I  see  there  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  for  having 
foolishly  accused  him  of  atheism  ;  that  other  stern-looking  one,  for  replying 
with  harshness  to  his  proposals  made  by  his  worthy  father,  whose  white 
hairs  she  should  rather  have  honored ;  M.  Thuillicr,  for  having  sacrificed 
him  to  ambition ;  M,  Colleville,  for  not  having  done  his  part  as  a  father, 
and  choosing  the  most  worthy  man;  M.  Minard,  for  giving  in  to  his 
jealousy  and  trying  to  foist  his  son  in  his  place.  There  are  but  two 
present  who  have  done  him  common  justice — Madame  Thuillicr  and  M. 
the  Abb6  Gondrin.  I  shall  now  ask  that  man  of  God  whether  we  may 
not  almost  doubt  Divine  justice,  when  we  see  this  generous  young  man, 
the  victim  of  all  of  us,  tossed  at  the  mercy  of  the  waves  and  tempest, 
to  which  for  three  long  years  he  is  consigned  before  he  returns  ?  " 

"Providence  is  mighty,  monsieur,"  said  the  abbi;  "  God  will  protect 
M.  F61ix  Phellion  in  the  midst  of  peril ;  in  three  years  let  us  have  the  firm 
hope  that  he  will  be  safely  restored  to  us." 

"  But  three  years,"  said  M.  Picot.  "  Will  it  still  be  time  ?  Mile.  Colle- 
ville, will  she  wait  for  him  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  swear  it,"  cried  the  young  girl,  carried  away  by  an  uncontrol- 
lable impulse. 

"  And  you,  Mile.  Thuillicr,"  continued  Picot,  "  and  you,  Mme.  Colle- 
ville, will  you  allow  this  ?  " 

"Yes,  yes,"  cried  everj-body;  for  M.  Picot's  voice,  full  and  sonorous, 
had  tears  in  it. 

"It  is  time,  then,"  said  M.  Picot,  "to  grant  an  amnesty  to  Providence." 
Then  nishing  to  the  door  where  my  ear  was  glued  to  the  keyhole — ^by 
George !  he  nearly  caught  me  : 

2   C 


444  THE  MIDDLE    CLASSES. 

"Announce,"  said  he  to  me,  "M.  Fdlix  Phellion  and  family." 

Thereupon  a  door  opened  and  five  or  six  persons  came  out,  who  were 
led  by  M.  Picot  into  the  salon. 

At  the  siglit  of  her  lover  Mile.  CoUeville  fell  in  a  faint,  but  the  spell 
was  soon  over,  and,  seeing  M.  F6Iix  at  her  feet,  she  threw  herself,  weep- 
ing, into  Mme.  Thuillier's  arms,  crying : 

"  Godmother,  you  always  told  me  to  hope." 

Mile.  Thuillier,  who,  as  I  have  always  thought,  despite  her  harsh  nature 
and  lack  of  education,  is  a  very  remarkable  woman,  had  a  happy  inspi- 
ration : 

"One  moment,"  she  said,  for  they  were  just  starting  for  the  dining- 
room.  "  Monsieur  Phellion,"  she  said,  going  up  to  him,  "monsieur  and 
old  friend,  I  ask  for  the  hand  of  M.  Felix  Phellion  for  our  adopted  daugh- 
ter, Mile.  CoUeville." 

"  Bravo,  bravo  !  "  cried  all  in  chorus. 

"  My  God  !  "  said  M.  Felix  Phellion,  tearfully,  "  what  have  I  done  to 
deserve  so  great  a  happiness  !  " 

"You  have  been  an  honest  man  and  a  Christian  without  knowing  it," 
replied  the  Abb6  Gondrin. 

Here  la  Peyrade  flung  down  the  letter. 

"Well!  you  haven't  finished  it?"  said  Corentin,  picking 
it  up.  "But  there's  not  much  more;  M.  Henri  just  informs 
me  that  he  was  'moved' — him!  no,  wait,"  added  Corentin, 
"  here's  another  detail  of  some  importance :  " 

The  Englishwoman  made  it  known  during  dinner  that,  having  no  heirs, 
her  fortune  after  the  deaths  of  herself  and  husband,  will  go  to  F61ix.  who, 
as  a  consequence,  will  become  enormously  wealthy. 

La  Peyrade  had  risen  and  was  striding  rapidly  about  the 
room. 

"Well,  what's  the  matter?"  asked  Corentin. 

"Nothing,"  answered  the  Provencal. 

"Yes,  there  is,"  replied  the  detective;  "I  think  you  are  a 
little  jealous  of  that  young  man's  good  fortune.  My  dear  fel- 
low, allow  me  to  suggest  to  you  that  if  you  wished  such  a  con- 
clusion for  yourself,  you  should  have  acted  as  he  has  done. 


THE   MIDDLE   CLASSES.  445 

When  I  sent  you  one  hundred  louis  to  study  law,  I  did  not 
then  intend  you  as  my  successor ;  I  expected  you  to  labor  at 
the  oars  of  your  own  galley,  to  have  the  courage  for  obscure 
and  hard  toil ;  your  day  must  have  come.  But  you  choose  to 
violate  Fate." 

**  Monsieur  !  "  said  la  Peyrade. 

**  I  mean,  hastened  it — cutting  the  hay  while  yet  green. 
You  took  a  fling  at  journalism ;  you  made  acquaintances  of 
Cerizet  and  Dutocq ;  and,  frankly,  I  think  you  very  fortunate 
in  reaching  the  port  in  which  you  have  now  found  a  refuge. 
Beside,  you  are  not  of  a  nature  sufficiently  simple-hearted  to 
enjoy  such  bliss  as  is  reserved  for  Felix  Phellion  and " 

"  These  middle-classes,"  said  la  Peyrade,  quickly ;  "  I  know 
them  now,  to  my  cost.  They  have  great  absurdities,  great 
vices  even ;  but  they  have  their  virtues,  or,  at  the  least,  very 
estimable  qualities ;  in  them  lies  the  vital  force  of  our  corrupt 
society." 

^'Your  society!"  said  Corentin,  smiling;  ''you  speak  as 
if  you  were  still  in  the  ranks.  You  are  struck  off  the  roll,  my 
dear,  and  you  must  learn  to  be  more  content  with  your  lot; 
governments  pass ;  societies  perish  or  dwindle ;  but  we — we 
dominate  all  things;  and  the  Police  is  eternal." 


UCSB  LIBRARY 


^■C  Soblher?  Regional  Licrary  Faci 


A     000  525  47C 


